C.O. drivers brave cold and snow

Friday morning, Central Oregon woke up to snow. By mid-afternoon, visibility dropped on area roads and traffic was slowed.

“There is a little layer of ice, and then there is soft snow over that, and with the freezing you have to go slow,” Bend resident Eddy Young said. “A little slippery, but the car is good — I wouldn’t really venture out without good tires.”

Along with ODOT, the Deschutes County Road Department was out sanding and plowing roads. Manager Chris Doty says they were prepared for Mother Nature.

“We’re running split shifts,” Doty said. “We will be on top of this event until it’s done sometime tomorrow.”

With snow falling in Bend, the trouble spot was on the way to Mt. Bachelor

“We’re seeing a lot of visibility issues,” Doty said. “The snow is very light and very dense up there, and the wind is blowing it around.”

Long time Bend resident Lorenzo Green said Friday’s storm reminded him of the very snowy winter of 1991-92.

“It wasn’t a matter of if it was going to snow, it was a matter of how much it was going to snow,” Green recalled.

He added that drivers in Central Oregon seem to know what they are doing, with everyone being calm and collective.

“Just be careful on the accelerator,” Green said. “Be cool.”