Our family will be flying into Sea-tac on July 12th and we will have four full days before we need to be in Bend,OR. Being from Georgia, my kids would love to see snow (not at a distance). Would driving to Paradise (Ranier) or Timberline Lodge (Hood) give us that opportunity?

I'd say the chances are pretty good this year, as there are a lot of variables in favor of snow lingering on the mountains into July. Of course, the *highest* peaks are snow-covered year-round, most years.

You're asking, I think, will you be able to drive up to a snowbank and play around with a little white stuff?

We've had abundant snow in the mountains this year -- last I heard, we were at 110 percent of normal. Summer in the lowland area of Puget Sound doesn't really kick into high gear until after the 4th of July weekend. Snowmelt doesn't peak until after a few weeks of nearly steady sunshine.

So, a July 12th arrival could allow you to see some snow at Paradise, at least. It won't be the soft, fluffy stuff, I'd almost guarantee, though. But a frosty snowbank...yeah, likely.

Fritzrl

http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/WebCa...am/moracam.cfm

Paradise.

RedRock -- what a nifty link! Bookmarked.

Don't think it'll look the same in July, though.

You could drive up to the Whistler ski resort where there is glacier skiing (and snow) in the summer. It's a beautiful drive from Vancouver to Whistler.

From today's Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...210.xml&coll=7
Mt. Hood indeed has snow all year,(along with skiing) but Mt. Batchelor will have plenty of snow to drive to also, along with Crater Lake, unless global warming picks up considerably between now and July.

Whoops!
Oregon's snowpack is the best in the West at 136 percent of average. What's more, the snow with the region's highest water content -- the true measure of its value to the water supply -- is on the southern flank of Mount St. Helens.

In fact, there's just too much snow to measure firsthand.

Jon Lea, a hydrologist with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Portland, said his colleagues had planned to fly a helicopter to the 3,770-foot level on St. Helens today and dig a snow pit.


This kind of "ground-truthing" -- measuring the snow depth and its water content by hand -- was at the request of the National Weather Service, which also wanted a measure of density of the snowpack and its temperature. But Lea's team decided against it. Too much snow.

"We figured it would take too long to dig down 16 feet and do what we had to do," Lea said. "The helicopter would have left without us."

According to data from remote sensors, the snowpack at Swift Creek contains 82.8 inches of snow water equivalent. That means if it were melted down, it would create an equivalent-width reservoir about 7 feet deep.

The end of March has historically been when Oregon's and Washington's snowpacks reach their peak. And while this year's snowpack is not a record (1999 and 2000 were bigger), it's a vast improvement over last year, when Oregon was 38 percent of average, and Washington was 31 percent of average.

As of Monday, Oregon's best-in-West was followed by Nevada at 130 percent of average, California at 126 percent of average and Washington at 122 percent of average.

Lea said hydrologists dug a snow pit last week, but at a lower elevation. They found that the temperature of the snowpack was the same at the bottom and the top.

"That means it's ripe and ready to start its springtime melt," Lea said. "It's just like a big reservoir sitting up there."
From now until October, warming temperatures will gradually melt the snow, sending water into Oregon's streams, rivers and reservoirs.

Lea said such a robust snowpack means more than adequate supplies for agriculture, fish and wildlife, hydroelectric power, industrial and municipal use and recreational needs.

It also recharges the groundwater, Lea said, "like filling an empty bucket."
The snow has meant a banner year for Oregon's ski resorts, which struggled last year through one of the driest winters in 30 years.

At Timberline Ski Area, the Palmer chairlift opened Monday for the first time this season, a sign that the mountain is ready for months of spring, and even summer, skiing.

Dave Tragethon, marketing director for Mt. Hood Meadows, called this "a dream season."

"If I could, I'd put this season in a box and open it every November," Tragethon said. "It's been a great year for quality powder conditions."

So, where did all that snow come from?

Oregon's state climatologist, George Taylor, said La Nina -- an unusual cooling of waters off the coast of South America and warmer than usual waters in the Western Pacific near Indonesia -- was the reason for our abundance of snow this year.

"This is just what we expect during a La Nina," Taylor said. "The Northwest tends to get its wettest and snowiest winters, and the Southwest U.S. is more likely to be dry, with below-average snowpack."

As of Monday, Arizona's snowpack stood at 30 percent of average, Taylor said.

During last year's weak El Nino, Arizona's snowpack was about 150 percent of average. "These effects are seen worldwide, and we tend to see weather extremes all over the globe," Taylor said. "The Pacific Ocean is the single largest source of terrestrial heat for the atmosphere -- that's why it dominates the world's weather."

It won't be hard to find snow near Rainier in July. Most of the good trails in the park aren't snow free UNTIL mid-July. It won't be a winter wonderland-depending on how warm a spring we have, it could just be large snow patches, but just ask at the visitor's center when you get there which trail has the most snow on it. It's only 2 and a half (uphill) miles up the Skyline Trail to the permanant snowfields on Rainier-you could always hike to the edge of that, if you're up for it.

Wow! Thankyou for all the detailed and helpful information. I imagine we will try driving to Ranier and hiking a bit. Thanks again.

Taking Highway 26, up and over Mt. Hood is a great route to Bend. So it's a good choice if you don't want to go too far afield.

Overnights either at Timberline Lodge (http://www.timberlinelodge.com/) or Kah-nee-ta (http://www.kahneeta.com/) would be a fun addition. There's a great museum at the Warm Springs Reservation (http://www.warmsprings.biz/museum/), too.