This weather is insane. Last night I went to Tele Tuesday over at Skibowl. It was cold at the base - ice in the parking lot and big white puffs of air when I breathed. I pulled on my clothes, hopped on the lift, got off the lift, and removed all my clothes (well, not quite all, but a lot). I didn't have a thermometer, but I'm guessing it was at least 60 degrees at the top of the lift (that's mid-mountain). It was 29 or so below. Seems like there should have been strong winds up the slope with that kind of temperature gradients!
The inversion will continue for the next several days, with today and tomorrow being the warmest at higher elevations. Unfortunately, low level flow is going to switch directions, blowing out of the east. As of now, winds are behind model predictions of 25 or so for this morning. If winds hold to the models, we'll see 28-34 averages tomorrow morning, holding through friday. If you're going windsurfing or kiteboarding, please go with a friend and be prepared for unmarked obstacles floating in the river. By the way, river temperature is 40 degrees.
I said unfortunately about the Gorge east winds picking up, and now I feel compelled to explain. When we have westerly flow with an inversion, we (generally) have clear skies in the Gorge. With east winds, we get the Gorge Inversion (defined as colder low-level temperatures combined with a gloomy stratus cloud layer). That's the prediction through Friday, and possibly through the weekend.
The silver (and blue) lining is that it's going to be very warm at Meadows, definitely in the 50's and possibly warmer. I'm tempted to take my computer and homework up there to get some work done.
This weather will keep us dry, so consider dragging your mountain or road bike out of its winter hibernation spot.
Have a great day!
Print | posted @ Wednesday, January 14, 2009 6:27 AM