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Random Morning Thoughts
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
Today starts off clear on Mt. Hood, becoming cloudy midday with snow flurries starting around noon. The snow level will be 4500′ early this morning, dropping to 2500′ around 1pm and falling to the surface by midnight. We’ll see .1-.2” water value (WV), for less than 2” of new snow between 1pm and 10pm. Wind will be NW 25-35 early, rising to NW 30-40 in the afternoon and becoming NNW 20-25 overnight.
Tomorrow looks clear and cold on Mt. Hood, with the free air freezing level at the surface and temps at 5000′ in the mid teens in the morning and low 20’s in the afternoon. Wind will be NW 20-30 early, NE 20 midday, and out of that hard-to-predict N direction in the afternoon.
Friday is tricky. The snow level will be at the surface early, but as warm, wet air overruns the cold air, we’ll see the snow level jump from 0′ to 9000′ in a very short period of time midday. While this is happening, between 4am and 4pm, we’ll see .2-.3” WV, which could fall as snow and could fall as freezing rain. If it falls as snow, it will be very dense and wet.
After 4pm, and through 4am Friday, we’ll see another .6-.8” WV. During much of this time period, the snow level will be 8000-9000′, meaning this precip will likely fall as rain. If that wasn’t a big enough bummer, take a look at the wind speeds for Friday: NW 30-40 at 4am, NW 50-60 at 10am, NW 60-70 at 4pm, and NW 60 overnight.
On Saturday morning, the snow level briefly drops to 5000′ before rising to 8000′ by 10am and staying there. At this point, it looks like we’ll start Saturday with a mix of flurries and sprinkles and rainbows before we see the sky clear midday. Wind Saturday will be NW 35-45 early, swinging to NNW 30-40 midday.
Plain Old Local Weather
Today looks like a decent, partly cloudy day with temps in the mid-40’s. We’ll see increasing clouds in the afternoon with a chance of sprinkles, turning to a chance of snow flurries overnight as the snow level drops to the surface by Thursday morning.
Tomorrow looks to be below freezing in the Gorge, with very slick roads and a low cloud deck overhead. If we stay below freezing Thursday night, we’ll see either snow or freezing rain on Friday morning as a warm system moves over the top of the cold air. The cold air should get scrubbed out of the Gorge pretty quickly Friday afternoon.
Gorge Wind Forecast
We’re starting the day with .11 between Portland and The Dalles. That’ll give us westerlies at 21-24 from Hood River to The Dalles pretty much all day. Tomorrow starts off light, building to E 15-18 midday. Friday starts off light, and as this mega-system moves through, the wind goes to W 30-40 in the afternoon.
Road and Mountain Biking
I went for a jog on the Gorge 400 out of Wyeth yesterday, and it was in great shape. Post and Syncline are both very muddy, Whoopdee is closed, and I have no reports for Hospital Hill.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.
Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events
This evening at Columbia Center for the Arts, Peter Marbach talks on the town of Kumari, Nepal, and the life of trekking guide Jamat Lama. Proceeds for this event will benefit the Sukman Memorial Polyclinic in Kumari, Nepal. That should be fun and interesting. Also tonight, at 8pm, there’s Kayak Polo at the Hood River pool at 8pm, Karma Yoga (free/by donation) at Flow at 4pm, and ping pong at the Hood River Armory starting at 6:30pm.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
