There’s a bit of trickiness in the Mt. Hood forecast today. There are some weak weather systems moving in, but the moisture is going to be concentrated at low elevation, for the most part, making the mountain precip forecast difficult. That said, there’s actually a chance of a little bit of snow accumulation in the next few days, and that’s exciting news! Continued below the chart…
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4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a |
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| Today 12,000–>6000’ |
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| Tomorrow 5500’ |
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| The day after 4000–>2500’ |
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Expect a clear start to the day today with some low and mid-level clouds moving in this afternoon. There’s a slight chance of a few sprinkles tonight, but there’s a better chance that the clouds and moisture will be below ski area base elevations. The freezing level today will be 12,000′ early, 10,000′ in the afternoon, and will fall to somewhere between 4000′ and 6000′ by Thursday morning. Wind today will be SW 15 early and W 25 in the afternoon.
Tomorrow starts with low clouds, and progresses to an all-levels cloudy situation by midday. The snow level will be somewhere around 5500′ for much of the day, falling to 4000′ overnight. We’ll see snow flurries and/or freezing wet precip of some sort after 4pm for as much as .1” water value (WV), meaning it’s possible, although unlikely, that we could see an entire inch of snow by Friday morning. Wind on Thursday will be W 15 all day.
Friday starts with low and mid clouds and some flurries or freezing mist possible. I want flurries, so I’m going to predict flurries. The snow level will be 4000′ early and 2500′ in the afternoon. Total precip 4am-4pm will be around .1-.2” WV, for up to 2” of snow. Scattered flurries continue overnight. Wind will be NW 20-25 all day.
Saturday looks partly cloudy with the freezing level below 2500′ all day. Low clouds are possible, but sunshine is also possible. Or both. The extended forecast shows dry weather through Wednesday.
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Gorge Wind
As of 6am, there was still an east gradient through the Gorge. It was .07, in case you were wondering, and the river water temp is sitting at 41 degrees. Thanks to the folks at iWind/iKite for that. The east gradient will turn to west by 10am. At that point, watch the wind rise to W 26-30 from Swell to Arlington. Steven’s Locks will likely end up cloudy and less windy. With 271kcfs in the Columbia this morning, it’s a little higher than ideal for Maryhill but still low enough that you should find good swell there.
Expect light west wind tomorrow morning with W 15-18 in the afternoon from Steven’s Locks to The Dalles. Friday starts with W 10-13 and picks up to W 18-21+.
Pistol River looks windy Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The north and central coast look light on Thursday and a bit marginal on Friday and Saturday with models currently showing N 10-15 both days.
Random Morning Thoughts
I have the day off from my “other job” today, so I lazed around in bed for a while and read some articles while I slowly worked my way through writing the forecast. Cliff Mass (the UW weather guru) posted this morning about the winter of 2070. (I LOVE Cliff Mass, btw. He’s one of my heroes.)
Here in the PNW, we’ll be shielded from some of the effects of climate change. Thank you, Pacific Ocean. But we won’t be sheltered from rising average temperatures. This year has been 4 degrees warmer, on average, than the climatological average. That’s a lot. While we’ve had nearly-normal precipitation, we’re down around 25% of snowpack. It’s just been too warm for snow at the usual elevations.
If climate change plays out in the mid-range scenario, this winter will be our average winter by 2070. Plenty of moisture coupled with a low snowpack. It’s food for thought, for sure. No, you can’t save the world by yourself, but you can help a tiny amount. Once again, I encourage you to help save our snowpack by doing tiny things. For example, turn the lights off when you leave a room. Carpool to the mountain. Walk short distances instead of driving. I like snow a lot. I guess I’d better start driving less too. Good. Gives me an excuse to ride my bike…
Gorge Weather Forecast
It’s another clear start to the day in the Gorge, which is why it’s so chilly outside this morning. I went out to check the sky coverage, and now I’m huddled under my furry purple blankie trying to warm up. Expect clear sky this morning and some mid-level clouds this afternoon as a weak weather system moves in. We may even see (gasp) some sprinkles tonight. Temps will be in the low 30’s early and the low 50’s this afternoon. No rainbows.
Tomorrow starts out partly cloudy with low clouds and becomes just-plain-cloudy. There’s a chance of sprinkles (gasp) tomorrow night too! Temps will be in the low 40’s early and the low 50’s in the afternoon. 2% chance of rainbows.
Expect partly cloudy sky and sprinkles all day on Friday. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and the low 50’s in the afternoon. 92% chance of rainbows on Friday. Rainbows and wildflowers… gonna be a great day for photography.
Poor Little White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
I don’t know what to say here but to let you know that the dirt is awesome. Also, Falls Creek is clear of snow top to bottom with about a dozen downed trees. You road bikers, know that you’ll find a westerly breeze on the pavement for the next three days. See the above wind forecast for wind strength. If you’re working on training for events, this is your first reminder that The Dalles Mountain 60 is on March 14th this year.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear.
Temira approves. Click to join.
Upcoming Events
Tonight is Tuesday. There’s a special Aikido class with Jaff Raji at Trinity tonight at 5:30. There’s ping pong at the Hood River Armory at 5:30. At 8pm, there’s Kayak Polo at the Hood River pool. Coming up tomorrow, there’s community yoga at 8am at Flow, and there’s community yoga at 6:30pm at Yoga Samadhi. Looking ahead to Friday, Helping Hands has the Aporkopalyspe, an all-bacon festival featuring dishes by many restaurants. $20 gets you in the door, and all proceeds benefit our local women’s shelter. Friday night is also an HRATS fundraiser at the Lumberyard in Portland.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
