After Snow, Slides Comes Sun — And Slick Streets

The latest storm moved on and the skies turned sunny for much of Central Oregon Thursday morning, but the danger was far from over as wet streets turned icy in temperatures right around freezing, triggering a new rash of crashes.

Highway 97’s northbound lanes north of Bend were closed for more than an hour by an injury crash involving at least two vehicles around 5:30 a.m., ODOT reported. Another crash involving a pickup truck spin-out occurred a couple miles north a short time later.

The slick streets continued through the morning commute, and a two-vehicle crash occured around 8:30 a.m. at NE Eighth Street and Olney Avenue in Bend, prompting police to call for sanding of the intersection. An SUV reported struck a wall on Eighth Street near the Butler Market Road roundabout.

The icy spots are unlikely to disappear entirely, with highs only into the low to mid 40s, according to NewsChannel 21 Chief Meteorologist Bob Shaw. He forecast cloudy skies overnight and lows back into the teens and low 20s. But Shaw expects a warm-up Friday and heading into the weekend and early next week.

The second day of spring was worse than the first for much of Central Oregon on Wednesday as more widespread heavy, wet snow sent cars slipping, sliding and crashing ? and a pair of slides blocked Highway 20 near Santiam Pass with six feet or more of snow, trapping a few vehicles and shutting the road for five-plus hours,

The biggest slides hit around 10:30 a.m. in an area prone for them, around Hogg Rock, just west of the pass, where another big slide shut the road at the start of winter in November.

ODOT officials said two vehicles were caught between two of Wednesday’s slides, but there were no injuries, and a snowblower made it through to the occupants.

NewsChannel 21’s Shanna Mendiola, who headed up to the pass, said she’d seen about four cars stuck amid non-stop snow and poor visibility.

Drivers who were stuck said conditions were a little more extreme than expected. Some said they were a little shaken up, but in good spirits.

Dan Lagoon, whose truck was stuck in the snow, said, “We’ve already un-dug two cars, and every time we un-dig one, we get another one that gets buried — and we’ve also got two more avalanches ahead of us.”

Driver Brian Buttler of Bend tried to find the positive side: “It’s exciting. it’s kind of fun. Be glad to get going, though. “

And that wasn?t the only Highway 20 problem ? to the west, the road was shut five miles east of Sweet Home to the state Hwy. 126E junction due to numerous trees and power lines downed by the heavy, wet snow.

Travel challenges continued to pop up from the wet, heavy snow. State Highway 22 was reported closed near Mill City due to downed power lines, so ODOT urged motorist to use another route over the Cascades, or expect long delays.

Another avalanche was reported near Mt Hood, blocking state Hwy. 35 about six miles north of Hwy. 26 for a time; that road was open again by 1:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service replaced its winter weather advisory with a winter storm warning for heavy snow, extending it until 5 a.m. Thursday. Forecasters said 4-8 inches of snow were expected, with a foot or more near the Cascades crest, though it could mix with rain for a while Wednesday afternoon as temperatures rise, then turn back to snow.

Before anyone asks ? ODOT as of yet has no plans to extend the April 1 deadline for removing studded tires, said Region 4 spokesman Peter Murphy in Bend.

Problems began earlier Wednesday at Santiam Pass, as a tanker truck jackknifed and blocked the snowy road. The driver reportedly was not hurt, but the road was shut until ODOT snowplows could pull the truck out of the guardrail.

After Tuesday?s split of a storm ? up to a foot of snow in the La Pine area, none north of Bend ? the snowfall was more widespread from Wednesday?s storm, including four to five inches in the Sisters-Black Butte area, five inches reported at Crooked River Ranch, 1 inches in Redmond and about that in areas of Bend.

An NWS weather spotter near Camp Sherman reported 9 1/2 inchest of heavy, wet snow by late Wednesday morning.

In the Bend area, traffic woes abounded, from a car into a power pole at NE Second and Franklin Avenue to another into a metal pole on Century Drive west of Bend and two crashes on Highway 126 and Buckhorn Lane in Cloverdale, one a car through a fence. A crash at NE Sixth Street and Norton Avenue in Bend toppled a stop sign. No injuries were reported, however.

On the plus side, the heavy, wet snow was said to be perfect for snowmen or other sculptures. If you do that, snap a pic or two and share with the rest of the High Desert in our online slide show; just e-mail stories@ktvz.com or use the My Report feature in our smartphone apps.