Bend students celebrate a fun first snow day of the school year after heavy snowfall cancels classes

(Update: adding video, comments from students, Bend La Pine Schools Director of Communications)

'Kind of everything snow'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Heavy snowfall overnight Wednesday resulted in dozens of empty school parking lots and the first snow day of the year for many schools -- and kids happy to be out playing in it.

The biggest bout so far of this week's series of winter storms brought up to 10 inches of snow in the Bend area and well over a foot to the south, prompting school closures and delays around the High Desert, as well as other closed offices and courts.

Many students were excited when they heard the announcement.

"I was jumping up and down smiling. It was awesome." said Journey Jeffery, a middle-schooler at Pacific Crest.

Kids celebrated by heading out into their neighborhood for a variety of snow-related activities.

"It's a snow day, so we're sledding, snowball fights -- and kind of everything snow!" High Lakes Elementary student Juniper Jeffery said.

Pacific Crest student Faye Helt said, "This morning, there was like 15 kids going down this little hill. They kind of just bounce around different houses."

To determine school closures, the district says they have a team that goes out early in the morning around 3 a.m. to evaluate the road conditions.

"If it appears that our bus drivers may have a difficult time due to snow or ice or even windy conditions, then we may recommend a two-hour delay, a delayed start to the school day or a full school closure." explained Bend-La Pine Schools Director of Communications Scott Maben.

Weather spotter reports around Bend ranged from four to 9.4 inches, with about 3.5 inches in Madras, 4.2 inches in Powell Butte, 3.5 to five inches in Redmond and 9.5 inches in Sisters.

A National Weather Service weather spotter in the Three Rivers area south of Sunriver reported 14 inches of snow in 36 hours.

The NWS sees a break from heavy snow but colder temperatures over the next few days.

Another 2-7 inches of snow is predicted along the Cascades before the latest storm departs, and winds could gust to 55 mph in parts of the High Desert on the east slopes of the Cascades.

Another "robust system" may move into the region Friday through Sunday for another dump of several feet in the mountains.

At this point, the say Bend could see a possible 5-9 more inches Friday through Saturday. Sunday night single-digit lows are possible.

The overnight snowfall prompted Bend-La Pine Schools to cancel classes Wednesday and all after-school activities are also canceled, including scheduled games and practices.

Here’s a list of Wednesday's other closures, cancellations and delays that we will be adding to. Feel free to send us yours at stories@ktvz.com.

OSU-Cascades campus in Bend and all Central Oregon Community College campuses are closed Wednesday.

Deschutes County Circuit Courts are closed.

All Head Start and Early Head Start classes are canceled for Bend and La Pine, two-hour delays Redmond and Prineville.

Redmond schools are on a two-hour delay.

Crook County Schools are on a two-hour delay.

Jefferson County School District 509-J is on a two-hour delay.

Eastmont School is closed.

St. Francis of Assisi School in Bend is closed.

Sonshine Christian School in Redmond is closed.

Three Sisters Adventist School, Trinity Lutheran School and Cascades Academy are closed.

Culver schools are on a two-hour delay.

Powell Butte Charter School is on a two-hour delay.

Due to staffing, the Redmond DMV office will be closed Wednesday.

Mosaic Community Health information:

Due to weather conditions, Mosaic Community Health sites around the region will be operating remotely or experiencing delayed starts today (1-10-24) as follows:

Remote operation until noon: All Bend sites

10 a.m. delayed start: All Redmond, Madras, Prineville and Sisters sites + Redmond Dental

12 p.m. delayed start: East Bend Dental and Madras Dental

Patients with impacted appointments will be contacted this morning. Please call us if you have any questions: 541-383-3005.