Snowfall returns to the High Desert

Toward the end of Groundhog Day, after the critters in Pennsylvania and Portland saw their shadows — promising six (more?) weeks of winter — snowfall returned to the High Desert after a very dry January, delaying some classes and making roads slippery again, causing some slide-offs.

The inch or two of snow recorded late Sunday and early Monday across much of the High Desert heralded the start of a big drop in temperatures to the coldest readings in about two months — highs in the 20s, lows in the single digits by mid-week — though not quite as cold as the bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures of early December.

No school closures were reported, but slick roads prompted a two-hour delay in classes in the Jefferson County 509-J and Culver districts.

Southwest Bend resident Scot Brees reported on NewsChannel 21’s Facebook page having two inches of “super light, dry and fluffy snow” that he cleared “with a broom instead of a shovel, Leaf blower would work nicely too!”

Areas across the High Desert reported similar, or lighter amounts.

Mt. Bachelor reported three inches of new snow for a base depth of 56 inches. Hoodoo, meanwhile, had 1.8 inches for a depth of close to two feet — still shy of the three feet they need to open.

NewsChannel 21 Chief Meteorologist Bob Shaw said as a cold Arctic blast moves in, highs would only hit the freezing mark or so on Monday and a few degrees lower Tuesday, then reach only the 20s the rest of the week.