Snowstorm sweeps into the High Desert

(Update: Adding video, comment from driver)

A snowstorm that turned intense and brought near-whiteout conditions at times swept into the High Desert on Saturday, contributing to dozens of crashes on slick, icy roads, though none were reported to have caused serious injuries.

By late Saturday afternoon, Deschutes County 911 dispatchers had tallied close to three dozen crash reports, but they also noted that many more minor ones likely were not called in.

NewsChannel 21’s Max Goldwasser witnessed three crashes involving five vehicles while he was at the slick corner of Southwest Truman Avenue and Hill Street, one involving a pickup that collided with the plow on a city of Bend sanding truck.

Natalie Smucker said she lost control and drove onto the sidewalk.

“And then literally two seconds later, two cars hit right behind me. And then one of the guys fell on the street, I fell on the street.” she said. “Just crazy. Don’t come to this corner.”

In fact, Smucker said she was already driving a rental car after another weather-related crash last weekend.

Another crash sent an SUV off a 15-foot embankment onto its top on Highway 372 (Century Drive), the busy road to Mt. Bachelor, but again, no serious injuries were reported.

Light snow was falling at the Bend, Madras and Redmond airports at 3 p.m., with 21-degree readings over much of the region, fog at Redmond and northerly winds dropping the wind-chill index into the single digits.

A break in the snowfall didn’t make things any warmer (or any less fun) for the hundreds of participants in Saturday’s Law Enforcement Polar Plunge at Riverbend Park, where the water temperature was reported at 33 degrees.

The storm brought a welcome gift of fresh powder for skiers and snowboarders, as Mt. Bachelor reported 9 inches of new snow in 24 hours for a 75-inch snow depth at West Village and 87 inches at mid-mountain. Cold temperatures and gusty winds made for frigid fun on the slopes.

Meanwhile, Hoodoo got nearly a foot of new snow for a 63-inch base but cold conditions, around 10 degrees, Saturday afternoon heading into night skiing.

Central Oregon has a winter weather advisory in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday, with another 1-3 inches expected in the valleys and 3-7 inches in the mountains.

There was no word yet on any Monday school or government impacts, but one Sunday event was canceled due to the winter weather conditions: the Second Sunday Jam/Dance of the Oregon Old-time Fiddlers at the Powell Butte Community Center.

Before heading out, especially over the passes, check our ODOT TripCheck page for the latest conditions or any issues.

Central Oregon was far from alone: Residents across the Northwest are dealing with heavy snowfall, and meteorologists say more is likely on the way.

About 200 flights were canceled at Seattle-Tacoma and Portland international airports Saturday, roughly matching the number of Friday cancellations. The Sea-Tac area recorded 8-10 inches of snow.

The regionwide snowfall also made for more canceled flight arrivals and departures at Redmond Airport. Check the RDM flight status page for the latest information.

To the east, severe snow drifts shut down Interstate 90 and other roads in central Washington. More than a foot of snow was recorded in some areas of the state, including on the Olympic Peninsula.

I-82 was closed at the Oregon-Washington border due to highway closers in Washington.

In Seattle, where such snow is a rarity, residents cleared out grocery store shelves and left work early Friday afternoon as the storm arrived.

The National Weather Service said a storm warning remained in effect, with an additional 1-3 inches possible on Saturday and another storm in the forecast early next week.

In the Portland area, snowfall varied from a dusting to several inches, especially in southwest Washington. A foot of snow fell at Bonneville Dam, and 6 inches was reported in Gresham.

In southeast Washington state, a blizzard warning was in effect for the Yakima and Kittitas valleys until 2 a.m. Sunday, with winds gusting up to 50 mph and 5-10 more inches of snow predicted.