Wednesday. 11/20. Mt. Hood sunshine, snow forecast, Gorge wind forecast, and all-around sun forecast.

It’s fall now, and that means it’s time for the snow forecast!

Your forecaster.

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Random Morning Thoughts

Gratitude Month, day 20: I am grateful for clear skies and sunshine in the middle of winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder sucks, and sun (and happy lamps) are the cure. Hooray for sunny days!

Awesome Temira-approved Local Business

Hey Portland. Hey Hood River. Skip the cooking this Thanksgiving: ride or sail or ski all day and then head on down to Riverside for Thanksgiving dinner. They’ll take care of your dinner and clean up, with served plated dinners. Traditional turkey and trimmings, or vegetarian, prime rib, and salmon options. Serving 12-9pm. Reservations recommended. 541-386-4410. And as always, the best happy hour in the Gorge 4-6pm and $12 Prime Rib Tuesdays, Temira’s favorite. The folks on the mailing list are in a raffle for free Prime Rib for two. Don’t you wish you were on the mailing list?

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Mt. Hood Snow Sunshine Forecast

I could be wrong because I’m not there, but I’m pretty sure that Mt. Hood resembles an ice skating rink this morning. Why? 2-3” of rain fell on the snowpack in the last storm system. At 7am, it was 20° at 5000′ and 13° at 8000′, so yes, I do believe “Ice Skating Rink” is an apt description. Break out the Zamboni, and let’s try downhill ice skating!

The ice skating rink will stay icy for a couple of days before turning into lovely corn snow this weekend, at least in the morning. The afternoon snow, well, let’s see just how warm it gets…

Anyway, the forecast: Cold and clear for the next two days. Today sees the free air freezing level (FAF) at the surface this morning, rising to 500′ midday. Wind will be NE 10-20. Tomorrow, Thursday, sees the FAF at the surface, rising to 500′ or less late in the afternoon with NE wind at 20 early and 10 late.

We’ll see a major temperature inversion develop Friday: Low elevations stay cold while temps hover just above freezing between 5000′ and 7000′ in the morning, rising to 40° at 5000′ in the afternoon, with the FAF at 9000′. Wind Friday will be light and variable (LTV).

Saturday sees a more pronounced inversion, with the FAF around 10,000′ and temps at 5000′ at 40° in the morning, approaching 50° in the afternoon with LTV wind. Same goes for Sunday.

Next chance of precip? Well, there’s no model consensus beyond Tuesday, and there’s no precip before Tuesday, so I have no idea when it’ll next rain or snow.

Plain Old Local Weather

Down here in the Gorge, it’s clear and cold and sunny and awesome. It’ll be clear and cold and awesome up high too, but on the weekend, it’ll be clear and “warm” and awesome at high elevations. Watch out for freeze-thaw mud if you’re headed up high.

Gorge Wind Forecast

It’s 31° in the Gorge this morning. Do you really want to go windsurfing or kiting? It’s going to be 25° tomorrow morning. Really? Okay. I’m not your mom, but somebody else should take that heartbreaking job before you succumb to hypothermia. Here’s the forecast: light easterlies this morning pick up to 26-30+ later today. Tomorrow sees Stevenson at 30+ and Rooster at 40+. Ditto for Friday and probably Saturday.

Road and Mountain Biking

There were puddles everywhere in Post when I went running yesterday afternoon, so that may be a bit muddy. Syncline, if it didn’t free overnight, should be great. If it froze, you’re looking at slippery freeze-thaw today. I suspect we’ll see freeze-thaw mud tomorrow, as south-facing Syncline warms up just enough to melt the mud. My guess, and I’m just guessing here, is that Post will be frozen solid and epic on Thursday, if you can handle the cold. Whoopdee will be somewhere in between. Anyone know if the 44 Road trails are snowy now? I suspect the last rain storm melted the snow from the last snow storm… And the roads, they look dry and awesome! So many choices in bike world this week!

In other bike news, the HRATS have a BOD meeting on Thursday at the Hood River Fire Station at 5:30pm.

The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.

Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events

Kayak Polo is tonight. If you’ve ever played, please show up and pay tonight, or there will be no more kayak polo this season. 8-9:30 at the Hood River Pool. There’s also Karma Yoga (free/by donation) at Flow Yoga at 4pm.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira