Heavy, wet snow makes for slick roads, crashes around C.O.; schools close early

(Update: Adding video, comments from Bend PD, drivers)

(Bend-La Pine Schools let bus riders out 30 minutes early; Deschutes courts to close)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Heavy, wet and slushy snow began falling Monday morning, and it didn’t stop.

But that didn’t stop drivers like in Bend, like Zac Simpson, from hitting the roads.

“You know, I just got out, but I’ve noticed it’s not really sticking, so it just kind of feels a little more wet,” Simpson said. “I haven't found any ice patches or anything like that, so it's been pretty chill.”  

Chris Wombolt, a Bend resident, said he didn’t change his plans for the day because of the snow. 

“Roads are a little soggy today -- I mean, they’ve been icy, but today is not so bad, when it comes to ice -- it's more soggy then anything,” Wombolt said. 

But it did make Simpson re-think taking a trip to Mt. Bachelor.

“I think this was the reason we all called it, we were all like, ‘Ehh, there's no reason fighting it -- we can always go the next day, the day after that’,” Simpson said. 

While better than ice, the slushy conditions still caused some trouble for drivers, including Kayla Farrell, who lives in Redmond. 

“Coming down on (Highway) 97, they were fine -- there's only a little bit of ice in the middle. But then down when you get into town, it's slushy all over the place,” Farrell said. “And I’m in four-wheel-drive. and I was still kind of sliding in the slush.”

Bend Police spokeswoman Lt. Juli McConkey said that by noon Monday, there already were 11 non-injury crashes, and one crash resulting in an injury.

“Hopefully, we aren’t going to have any more, any injury or non-injury crashes, as long as people can slow down and take their time to get to their destination,” McConkey said.

She said a crash could happen anywhere.

“They're all over Bend,” McConkey said. “We’ve had a lot of crashes, not only in the northeast but the northwest, southwest, so there's not any one particular area.”

She advised driving slowly, leaving space between you and the next car, and taking your time on turns.

Farrell said, “I just go real slow. That’s all you can do is go slow.”

“Definitely drive really slow, really cautious, take your time on the turns,” Wombolt said with a laugh. 

A fatal head-on crash on state Highway 126 east of Powell Butte early Monday led to a temporary road closure and a detour. ODOT reported the two-vehicle crash happened around 6 a.m. near milepost 12, five miles east of Powell Butte. A detour was put in place.

To the south, there were reports that snow drifts were causing issues for school buses in the La Pine area, as classes resumed across the region.

Due to the snowfall and travel conditions, COCC closed all four campuses before 11 a.m. Classes were canceled, including live Zoom campuses, and all services and departments are unavailable for the day. For more information: https://www.cocc.edu/emergency/.

Also due to the winter storm, the Oregon State University-Cascades Campus announced it would close at 2 p.m. Monday. Students were advised to check their Canvas course websites for the status (remote or canceled) of their classes. 

The school said Little Beavs Child Care also would close at 2 p.m. Students, employees and others were advised to exercise caution on commute. For more information, visit OSUcascades.edu or contact 541-322-3100. 

Bend-La Pine Schools sent out word that students riding buses would be released 30 minutes early, to give bus drivers additional time to drive to changing road conditions. Bus riders will be dropped at their stops about 30 minutes early. To track your student’s bus route, visit: MyStop. Non-bus riders were being released on their normal schedule.

Deschutes County Circuit Court announced its offices would close at 4 p.m.

Jackknifed semi-trucks were causing issues and blocking Hwy. 20 at times near Santiam Pass. Check the area's webcams, and a link to our ODOT TripCheck page, here: https://ktvz.com/weather/cameras/

Extreme wind conditions prompted Mt. Bachelor to close all lifts and trails at West Village and on the west side of the resort.

Along with the National Weather Service winter storm warning, high wind warning, wind advisory and winter weather advisory around the region was an avalanche warning from the Northwest Avalanche Center in Seattle for the Mount Hood area and east slopes of the Washington Cascades. Backcountry travel was not recommended.