Mt. Ashland saw light snow on Saturday, April 13 but a changeover to light rain by Sunday, April 14 for the end of the ski season in southern Oregon. The rest of the Cascades saw a mix of sun and clouds. Check out Mt. Hood Meadows at the end of the ski day on Sunday, April 14.

Forecast on Monday, April 15 and Tuesday, April 16:

The storm system expected to move in at the start of this week on Monday, April 15 will track too far to the northeast to bring much of any precipitation into Oregon. This storm system will bring scattered clouds to the Cascades with a few passing rain and snow showers around Mt. Hood with minimal accumulations. Scattered clouds and a couple of passing showers around Mt. Hood will occur on Tuesday, April 16 as well.

Mt. Hood will also see gusty winds (40-50 mph) associated with clouds on Monday and Tuesday. Winds will become gusty on Monday afternoon and continue to be gusty through Tuesday morning, but then weaken by Tuesday afternoon. Winds will be gusty in other areas of the Cascades as well but be strongest around Mt. Hood.

Below is a look at the wind gusts expected on Monday, April 15 and Tuesday, April 16.

Forecast from Wednesday, April 17 through Friday, April 19:

The remainder of this week will see an upper-level ridge with associated high-pressure move off the West Coast and bring dry and mostly clear weather.  Wednesday, April 17 through Friday, April 19 will be mostly clear with a few afternoon clouds developing. High temperatures will be in the 40s and 50s this week. 

We are in full-fledged spring skiing season, so enjoy the sun and soft turns!

The next chance of precipitation will come next weekend on Saturday, April 20 and or Sunday, April 21. The high-pressure system is expected to move out of the West Coast and a weak storm could move in following its departure. The extended forecast continues to be uncertain due to the shifting of winter and spring, and model uncertainty regarding how slow or fast the high-pressure system moves. 

I have low confidence in precipitation next weekend until I see a few more consistent model runs show a storm approaching the Pacific Northwest.

Looking further into the extended forecast for the week of Monday, April 22 shows a dry start with an increasing chance of precipitation later into the week. Again, let's wait for the forecast to get closer before we can have confidence in precipitation chances.

Below is a look at the ensemble forecasted 24-hour precipitation accumulations @ Mt. Hood Meadows.

Description: The graphic above shows 51 versions of the European ensemble model (top) on the y-axis (vertical) and 15 days from left to right on the x-axis (horizontal). Each colored rectangle shows a chance for precipitation (inches - see scale on right). The more the colors are aligned vertically, the higher the confidence in the forecast.

Thanks for reading, I will have the next forecast on Wednesday, April 17.

Zach Butler

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