Dangerous mountain snow this week, gusty winds, and wintry mix at lower elevations

A Winter Weather Advisory will go into effect for the east face of the Cascades, including Sisters, La Pine and Sunriver at 1 pm Christmas day and stay in place until 10 pm Thursday. About 2 - 4" of snow will fall along 97 south of Lava Butte during that time frame and will be mixed with rain at times. A bit more possible closer to the east face. Patchy ice is also a concern at night when temperatures drop below freezing. The bulk of the snow will be on the mountains, but lower elevations are likely to see travel impacted. Gusts near 35 mph are also possible during this time frame.

A variety of winter weather hazards are expected over the next several days in Central Oregon. The mountains will be dealing with several inches of snow, the winds will be howling through the passes, there may be some icy roads as well as downed trees.  The lower elevations will see a mix of rain and snow with the mix of snow more likely at night and the rain more likely during the day.  Bottom line is that the region is dealing with several waves of rain, wind, and snow through at least Monday.

Overnight into Christmas morning the region will be cold enough to support some light snow if the moisture times out.  Currently the next round of precipitation is not expected to arrive in Central Oregon until the middle of the morning or early afternoon.  The temperatures tomorrow afternoon will be mild enough to support a cold rain from Lava Butte north, including Bend and Redmond. There is a chance for some snow to accumulate south of Lava Butte but may not accumulate much more than an inch or two.  That would qualify Sunriver and La Pine for a White Christmas.

Travel through the mountains is not recommended beginning Wednesday night as there will be gusty winds and periods of snow.  There will be more than one wave of snow and rain traversing the Cascades this week and each will bring at least 8 – 10” of snow. Gusts near 60 mph are possible, not all the time, but occasionally.  Trees may be toppled if there is heavy snow on them when the gusts occur.

Thursday through the weekend will be similar as the steady rounds of rain and mountain snow persist.  Flooding is not expected east of the Cascades but there may be some ponding and minor flooding due to the persistence of the rain. More likely the late week time frame and into the weekend will be the best chance for our flooding concerns.

If you are heading west to the coast for the holiday, it will be rough going to get over the mountains, and there will be a lot of rain and wind to contend with until next week.  The bulk of the moisture with these storms will be deposited west of the Cascades.  High surf and dangerous coastal situations will be present each day.

Please stay safe.

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