Major storm sweeps into Oregon, C.O.: Wind, rain, snow, crashes and outages
(Update: I-84 closed, update on power outages)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Just as predicted, the strongest storm of the season swept into Oregon and the High Desert on Friday, bringing heavy rain, snow and winds gusting past 40 mph that knocked out power to thousands in Bend and Jefferson County.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the east slopes of the Cascades for 4 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday, with 10-20 inches of snow expected above 4,000 feet and 3-6 inches in the La Pine, Sunriver and Sisters areas, as well as winds gusting to 50 mph.
A winter storm warning was in effect in the northern Cascades until 8 p.m. Friday, with heavy snow above 4,000 feet -- 4-10 inches at pass levels and 10-20 inches above 5,000 feet, as well as winds gusting to 50 mph.
"Travel could be very difficult to impossible," forecasters warned.
Major wind-related outages Friday morning affected nearly 2,000 Pacific Power customers in northeast Bend, about 2,600 in Crooked River Ranch and more than 1,800 in the Three Rivers area west of Culver.
Pacific Power spokesman Drew Hanson said at least 11,000 customers were without power, from the north-central coast to the Portland area and Central Oregon.
A line was reported damaged at Crooked River Ranch.
Pacific Power crews were still working late Friday morning to restore power to nearly 2,000 northeast Bend residents due to wind-related issues that caused several outages, officials said.
Hanson said a large outage near Culver was resolved by late morning, but nearly 100 customers were still out near Grandview as crews repaired a damaged pole.
Check Pacific Power's Oregon outage page here for updates.
Central Oregonians awakened to heavy rain and wind, with winds gusting as high as 46 mph at Bend Airport.
Two crashes on Highway 97 north of Bend blocked some lanes for a time before 8 a.m. during the soggy, blustery morning commute.
Richard Perry, 40, of Redmond was taken to St. Charles Bend Bend after he lost control of his northbound car and it entered the southbound lanes, colliding with a southbound utility van driven by a 25-year-old Redmond man, Oregon State Police said.
The van driver was not injured in the crash, which affected all lanes of the highway for about 90 minutes.
In northeast Oregon, a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 84 was closed after snowy, icy conditions sent about a dozen trucks sliding off the road. The closure was between Exit 216 east of Pendleton and Exit 302 in Baker City.
NewsChannel 21 Chief Meteorologist Bob Shaw said the major storm was bringing rain and wind for many, but heavy snow south of Bend, with challenging travel and a stormy weekend ahead. On the plus side, Mt. Bachelor could have 3-4 feet of snow by Monday, with more on the way.
