It was a beautiful early spring day in the Gorge for Equinox Eve: mostly clear skies, comfortably cool temps, and a dry and breezy east wind. Despite all the sunshine, temps in The Dalles were about 3 degrees below normal when you factor in both morning low AND afternoon high. The airport touched 57 degrees after a low of 32, but most spots in the Gorge topped out in the mid-50s today. Even the notorious icebox called Trout Lake, was in the mid/upper 40s when I paid a visit. It is POSSIBLE for Hood River and The Dalles to get up around 75 at this time of year, IF the airmass at 4,500 feet is warm enough (let’s say +11 or +12 degrees Celsius) – but I’m really glad we didn’t go that route. After all this chilly weather I think that would be too much, too soon.

Airport temps are down to 39 as of 11pm, and we’re likely headed for low/mid 30s again by the time the night is over.

While tomorrow may be the first “official” day of spring (equinox is at 3:29am, Pacific Daylight Time) – the upper-level pattern is eerily reminiscent of what we saw several times over the winter. Here’s the GFS map from this morning:

A disturbance from the southwest slides up over us, while cold Canadian high pressure to the north and east keeps a chilly east wind going in the Gorge. This kind of general pattern could easily produce a snowstorm anytime between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day; and maybe even some wet snow in late February or very early March. But at this time of year it just means cool and dreary weather. If there was ample precip during the day tomorrow, high temps for HR and DLS would have no trouble staying in the 40s. However I think it will be just a bit too dry during the day, for that kind of outcome. But whether it’s 46 or 52, with the gloom and easterly flow it will be a reminder that we’re still not that far removed from winter.

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Now on to the GOODIES. Lots of Phenocam photos from The Dalles, Catherine Creek, Trout Lake and Underwood. It was wonderful seeing all the snow still on the ground in Trout Lake; it started appearing in shady spots right near BZ Corners. You could also notice that the green grassy fields in the valley near Husum and BZ Corners, still looked a bit “stunted” due to the colder climate up there.

Meanwhile at river level….the crocus are in full bloom and the “mainstream” daffodils just started opening a couple days ago. But the plum, apricot and magnolia all still appear to be another 5 to 10 days away. Two years ago, these trees bloomed a full month earlier, in the last few days of February!