High Desert Welcomes Spring With Late Winter Blast
The High Desert welcomed the official start of spring Tuesday with a late, if selective blast of winter: a blustery, powerful storm that dumped a half-foot to even a foot of snow in the La Pine-Sunriver area in just a few hours, but only a rain-snow mix to the north.
Despite the intense snowfall in the south Deschutes County area, no schools were reported closed or delayed.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning around 8 a.m. for areas above 3,500 feet to the south and west of Bend, saying they could see 6-10 inches of snowfall — but by then, snow was starting to taper off after dropping those amounts, if not more, before and after sunrise.
Several NWS weather spotters, from La Pine to areas north, reported 5-8 inches or more of the heavy, wet snow before it stopped as blustery southerly winds pushed temperatures above freezing.
“What a first day of spring!” one Sunriver-area resident wrote.
Ski resorts and the Cascades received another late-season pummeling. Mt. Bachelor had nine inches of new snow in 24 hours for a 148-inch depth at West Village
According to NewsChannel 21’s Facebook friends, PatLou Davis reported “over a foot” of snow five miles north of La Pine and still falling after sunrise, while Deschutes River Woods resident Ryan Flores reported 2-3 inches of snow followed by a rain-snow mix. (Other areas of DRW got a half-foot, even more of snow, depending on the elevation).
Annie Hamilton, who lives between Sunriver and La Pine, said eight inches had fallen and it was still coming down at 8 a.m.: “Our roads are so thick of snow, no getting down our road.” She said school buses were having quite a time, and some minor wrecks began to occur in the La Pine area.
To the north of Bend, it was a far different story: Nichole Rachman said no snow fell at Crooked River Ranch, while it was just light rain and wind in Redmond, according to Jill Kathleen Houle.
Brooke Hewitt said “a heavy dusting” was all that happened at Prineville Reservoir, while a snow-rain mix fell in Bend: “Would love it if it would choose one” or the other, said Amanda Gibson.
NewsChannel 21 Chief Meteorologist Bob Shaw said while highs rose to the mid to upper 40s, southwest winds would stay very gusty at 20-30 mph. “Mixed showers will spread across the region tonight as lows drop to around freezing,” Shaw said.
We’ll get a weather slide show going on the Website as time permits — feel free to share 1-2 of your favorite new photos (before the snow melts!) for posting at stories@ktvz.com or using the “My Report” feature of our smartphone apps.
