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The Forecast
| 4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a | |
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| Tuesday 6500′->3000′ |
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| Wednesday 3000′->1500′ |
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| Thursday 1500′ |
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Mt. Hood Weather Forecast
Despite an inch of rain on Mt. Hood yesterday and continued light drizzle this morning, the good news continues for the extended forecast. With the exception of some complications on Saturday, 850mb temps are forecast to stay below 0C for the next couple of weeks. Precip is forecast to stick around for much of that time period leading to decent mountain snowfall. 2 week probability forecast (GFS/ECMWF): 12”: 100%/100%; 24”: 100%/100%; 36”: 75%/100%; 48”: 0%/45%.
Tuesday, however, starts with drizzle and stays that way until the night. The snow level will be 6500′ early, may drop a little midday, will return to 6500′ in the afternoon, and will fall to 3000′ overnight. A trace of precip is forecast during the day followed by 0.15” water equivalent (WE) overnight. The last half of that should be snow, for 1/2” or so. Wind: W 15-20 in the morning, WSW 15-25 in the afternoon, and W 40 after midnight.
Strong westerlies Wednesday should pull as much moisture as possible from the air; snow totals are likely to exceed the forecast. The snow level will be 3000′ in the morning. A cold front midday takes the snow level down to 1500′ or so as 850mb temps fall to -5C. Models call for 0.3” WE during the day, for 3” new snow. Another 0.2” WE is forecast overnight, for 2-3” powder. Given the wind direction and strength, we could see bonus snow of 50% more. Wind: W 40 in the morning, NW 30-35 in the afternoon, and WNW 30-35 overnight.
Orographic (terrain-enhanced) snowfall continues on Thursday with the snow level at 1500′ all day long. As of this morning, 0.7” WE is forecast for the day time. That should give us 8-10” powder. Another 0.3” WE is forecast overnight for another 3-4” of the light-and-fluffy variety of snow. Again, bonus snowfall is possible. Add 50% if we’re lucky. Wind: WNW 30 in the morning, WNW 25 in the afternoon and evening. Flurries are forecast on Friday with the snow level at 1500′ early and 3500′ in the afternoon.
On Saturday, a moderate atmospheric river takes aim at the Pacific Northwest. The Euro is stronger and a little slower than the GFS. While both give about a 75% chance of 850mb (5000′) temps remaining below freezing, it’s highly likely we’ll see a period of mixed precipitation (and significant lift icing) midday Saturday. That said, very strong wind (SW, unfortunately, which will limit orographic enhancement) and significant precipitation (1.5-3” for the 24 hour period) will lead to significant snowfall. The snow level falls back to 2000′-2500′ on Sunday with continued snowfall. And… this week seems likely to bring enough snow to open up some terrain at all our local resorts. Thanks to the low elevation snowfall, XC skiing also should make a return. Yay!
Gorge Wind Forecast
East wind on Tuesday morning quickly turns calm and stays that way for the rest of the day. River flow is 47,100cfs, river temp is 48F, and high temp forecast is 50F. Wednesday sees a cold front swing through and high pressure build behind with another cold front late. Westerlies start at gusty 23-27 from The Dalles to Boardman with 10-13 in the central Gorge and 15-20 in the far west. Viento, as always, is likely to overperform with 25-30. Midday wind could bump up to gusty 27-31 east of The Dalles with gusty 18-25 in the central (and drizzly) westerly Gorge with 10-13 west of Viento. Afternoon wind drops to 10-13 in the west and falls to 20-23 east of The Dalles. High temp: 47F. Thursday starts with W 8-12 all through the Gorge. The wind picks up to 11-14 (with rain) in the western Gorge and 19-23 from The Dalles to Boardman. High temp: 43F.
Coast, Jones, Coast
Done until spring, unless there’s an obvious Coast or Sauvie’s or Jones day.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Clouds stick around all day with drizzle through late morning or early afternoon. Temps will be in the upper 30’s early and near 50 later. East wind early becomes calm this afternoon. 4% chance of rainbows. Wednesday will be drizzly in the morning, dry through sunset, and drizzly overnight. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and mid-upper 40’s later. Moderate to strong westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Thursday will be rainy all day. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and low 40’s later. Light westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows.
Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
Cycling
FREEZE-THAW ALERT: if you notice that temps were below freezing last night and will be above freezing today, don’t ride any trail that’s not under a tree canopy. If you do so, you WILL do significant damage. DON’T DO IT! Plentiful rain recently means most tree-covered trails are muddy. Please don’t ride them either. If you do, you’ll be doing significant and possibly permanent damage. No really, please don’t. There are lots of gravel roads and lots of pavement you can ride instead. Enjoy!
Local Events
Please let me know about events. I often only hear about them if you folx let me know!
Sprinter Van of the Week!
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Have an awesome day!
