South Deschutes County digs out from 1-2 feet of heavy, wet snow; high avalanche danger in Cascades
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A strong mid-March snowstorm dumped 1 to 2 feet of heavy, wet snow in the La Pine-Sunriver area Sunday, closing some roads, raising the avalanche danger and prompting cancellation of classes. A few inches fell in the Bend area, delaying school and leaving many roads in slick condition.
The Central Oregon Avalanche Center warned of a high danger of slides in the Cascades backcountry and advised visitors to “avoid steep, open slopes.”
“Avalanches will be large enough to bury or injure a rider, and could be even more destructive on slopes where the wind has blown in more slow,” Gabriel Coler wrote.
The storm front’s heavy, wet snow toppled trees and weighed down power lines, causing scattered outages. It also led to numerous crashes and slideoffs around the region and in southwest Oregon as well.
Bend-La Pine schools canceled classes at schools in La Pine and Sunriver Monday due to the heavy snowfall, while Bend’s schools were on a two-hour delay.
U.S. Highway 20 was closed for several hours due to a crash between Bend and Sisters, three miles south of the intersection with Cloverdale Road, ODOT reported.
Oregon State Police said two Bend residents were injured and taken to the hospital after the driver, who troopers said was “driving too fast for conditions,” spun out and his car crashed into an oncoming semi-truck.
The winter weather forced ODOT to close a 33-mile stretch of state Highway 58 on Sunday between Oakridge on the west and Crescent Lake to the east, amid spinouts, downed trees and snowy conditions. It reopened by about 7 p.m. Sunday.
Travelers were advised to use caution along the many roads impacted by the snowstorm, especially in southwest Oregon, where some flooding and power outages were reported.
The National Weather Service in Pendleton acknowledged Sunday evening that the storm had produced a “much snowier situation than previously anticipated."
The NWS also issued a flood watch early Monday for the John Day River at Service Creek and advised residents to monitor the rising water levels and prepare for possible flood warnings.
Mt. Bachelor reported another foot of new snow Sunday and over three feet in 48 hours for a 155-inch depth and lots of fresh powder for St. Patrick’s Day skiers and snowboarders.
To the north, Redmond had a record rainfall of .65 of an inch Sunday, the NWS said, nearly double the March 16th record of .39 of an inch, set in 1993.
