Redmond’s sub-zero low sets third straight record

As Central Oregon continues to shiver under frigid, record-breaking cold and dig out from up to a foot or two of snow, one school district — Jefferson County 509-J — canceled classes Monday, hours after calling a two-hour delay.

KWSO radio in Warm Springs reported the school district was having an issue with frozen pipes after the weekend’s sub-zero readings over much of the region. Also closed – Oregon Child Development Coalition in Madras.

KTVZ.COM received an e-mail shortly after 6 a.m. from Culver’s school superintendent, reporting a two-hour delay, but we have now confirmed that was a typo and Culver schools were on time. We apologize for any confusion.

For the 24 hours ending early Monday, the low temperatures — a few degrees “warmer” than over the weekend — included -11 degrees at Redmond Airport, -9 at Prineville Airport, -8 at Madras Airport and 3 at Bend Airport,

Several cities east of the Cascades again set records for the date (Nov. 17) Monday, including Redmond, whose low of-11 broke the old record of -4 that had stood since way back in 1941.

Temperatures at 6 a.m. Monday included -11 at Sisters Airport, 3 degrees at Black Butte Ranch, 5 degrees at Sunriver — and in a sign of the temperature inversion at lower elevations, 37 degrees at Mt. Bachelor add 32 degrees at Wanoga Butte. Tumalo reported 15 degrees.

A cold but sunny weekend when many Central Oregonians played in the snow – and others shoveled, slipped and slid in it – brought record sub-zero readings – and a United Airlines plane arriving from Denver getting stuck on part of a closed taxiway at Redmond Airport, meaning a long wait for passengers to get to the terminal.

United Flight 6351 arrived from Denver around 8:30 p.m. After landing, the pilot somehow turned onto part of a taxiway that was unplowed because it has been closed – with notice to airlines and pilots – as part of the ongoing pavement reconstruction project at RDM, said Airport Manager Jeffrey Tripp.

“That particular intersection is closed,” Tripp said. “They turned off on a taxiway they shouldn’t have, turned around and couldn’t quite make it.”

The airport was closed for a time as crews used shovels and sand to get the nose gear of Canadair Regional Jet (RJ-200) free and able to grip the surface, then make its way to the terminal after 10 p.m., with no reported injuries or damage, Tripp said.

The incident came a day after RDM reopened following a 21-hour airfield closure due to freezing rain, disrupting many travelers’ plans.

Redmond broke two low-temperature daily records over the weekend, reaching -17 late Saturday, three degrees colder than the old Nov. 15th mark of -14, set in 1934, and dropped to -19 early Sunday, shattering the old Nov. 16th record of 4 degrees, set in 1961 — and the coldest spot in the state.

A Tumalo resident reported a -21-degree reading Saturday night, and a Crooked River Ranch resident had a -15 reading Sunday morning.

Other daily records were set early Sunday at John Day, which plunged to -7, while Meacham, a traditional “cold spot” dropped to -10, and Pelton Dam at 2 degrees.

Slipping, sliding or getting stuck in snow as roads and parking lots only partly thawed was a familiar occurrence around the High Desert Saturday as skies cleared after a storm dumped a few to about two feet of snow, depending on your elevation.

Several areas had close to two feet of snow Thursday and Friday, from Sisters to Warm Springs and Madras to Crooked River Ranch. Even parts of Bend saw nearly a foot of snow, while often-snowiest La Pine had a bit lighter amounts.

Early Saturday, Redmond Airport dropped to -7 degrees and Bend Airport to zero, but visitors to the Badlands east of town saw their car’s thermometer drop to -21, while a Madras weather spotter had a -15 reading. Temperatures were quickly dropping below zero under clear skies Saturday night. Records fell at Meacham, where it hit -16, and Pelton Dam, where the low was 5 degrees.

Bend Airport dropped to -4 by around 10 p.m. Saturday, then “warmed” to zero by 11 p.m. — but Redmond’s Roberts Field kept plunging, hitting -15 by 11 p.m. It was -4 in Prineville and Sisters.

Friday night’s cold apparently played a role in power outages in southeast Bend for both Central Electric Cooperative and Pacific Power customers, some for several chilly hours.

Pacific Power spokesman Bob Gravely said a failed insulator, possibly due to the cold weather, caused a line to come down outside the Cleveland Avenue substation, and while a handful of customers were directly affected, about 1,400 had to lose power for about an hour so the line could be put back in place.

Others had some momentary outages as well in the area, and about 200 CEC customers lost power for hours Friday evening.

The National Weather Service in Pendleton, meanwhile, issued an air stagnation advisory for Central Oregon, from 10 p.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Tuesday. It said an inversion that was keeping temperatures cold also was trapping pollutants near the surface, which can affect those with respiratory conditions.