Now that I'm doing the Mt. Hood Meadows snow phones and am up at 5 am, I have no excuse for not writing here.
It's still early season conditions - you know, rocks, stumps, grass, gapers and revolutionaries - at the mountain, but they're building a base fast. This storm dumped almost three feet of snow. Not sure how well it's packing in as a base, though. it's freezing up there. 16 degrees this morning, and forecast to drop to 9 this afternoon. Frigid tomorrow and Tuesday as well.
Best chance for new snow both in Hood River and at the Mountain is Thursday. Arctic air will still be in the Gorge, and a front will pass over the top. Depending on how much moisture we see in the front, we could see significant snow both in town and up on the hill.
I've penciled Thursday in as my opening day.
On the wind front, easterlies are already blowing in the Gorge, suggesting that arctic air is arriving earlier than forecast. iWindsurf has been having issues due to the ice storm in the Northeast. The city of Stevenson's wind meter is down. I suspect it's blowing 25-30 in Stevenson, given the .15 gradient. NOAA's sensor is reporting 15 at Rooster, so it's probably blowing 30 there.
I don't want to contemplate the wind chill factor.
Looks like easterlies will intensify tomorrow, reaching 50+ averages at Rooster.
For something more fun, go for a hike to look at the frozen Gorge waterfalls. This doesn't happen very often, and it's quite beautiful.
See you on the mountain (but not on the water) this week!
Temira
Print | posted @ Sunday, December 14, 2008 5:30 AM