Big dig-out, warmup begins after snowstorm; East Bend power back; Tumalo DUII crash into pole brings arrest, outage

(Update: Warmer temps, esp. south county; Redmond has record low of -1 Sunday morning)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Heavy snow and dangerous cold hit the High Desert as forecast Saturday, making for very risky travel conditions and keeping most folks at or close to home, followed by Sunday's major dig-out from a foot or more of snow as temperatures warmed Sunday to more normal readings.

About 2,400 Pacific Power customers on Bend's Eastside lost power Saturday night, amid frigid temperatures below zero. Pacific Power's outage map indicated the first report was around 9 p.m. and that the cause was under investigation. Repair crews first estimated service restoration before 11 p.m., delayed later to 12:30 a.m.

Power was restored to around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, spokesman Simon Gutierrez said. Facebook commenters said the outage included Forum Drive and the East Bend Safeway, which reportedly closed.

Meanwhile, a Toyota 4Runner crashed into a power pole around 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the area of Cline Falls and Tumalo Road -- and that led to a DUII charge and caused nearly 350 Tumalo-area residents to lose power. A Deschutes County sheriff's sergeant said the 28-year-old female driver was taken to the county jail and faces a DUII charge.

The outage map indicated at midday that the power had ben restored in Tumalo, meeting the noon estimate.

After a day of temperatures plunging to near or below zero -- and wind chills much lower -- there were still some areas of the High Desert in single digits Sunday afternoon, while freezing fog was reported at Madras Airport. Bend had warmed to 18 degrees by mid-afternoon, Prineville to 10 -- and a much bigger warm-up to the south: La Pine had reached 42 degrees and Sunriver and Lava Butte was at 39 by 2 p.m.

Still, Redmond Airport had a record low of minus-1 on Sunday, breaking the old 1-degree record set in 2013, the NWS said.

Gutierrez said Pacific Power had over 40,000 customers lose power around Oregon during Saturday's storm, a number crews had reduced to 18,000 by Sunday morning.

After several days of numerous warnings, watches and advisories, the National Weather Service in Pendleton had none in place Sunday after a winter storm warning and wind chill advisory for Central Oregon ended overnight.

Even with ODOT and other government plow and sanding crews working to keep roads open, “travel could be very difficult,” the NWS warned. “The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken.”

“If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” the NWS said. “Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat and gloves.”

Underscoring the dangers, ODOT Saturday night reported a conditional closure of Highway 20 east of Suttle Lake, with chains required on all vehicles, and for drivers to expect delays.

The OSU-Cascades campus announced it was closed Saturday and Sunday due to snow and road conditions. The school said, "Employees whose job descriptions are designated as essential positions are expected to report to work at their regularly scheduled time." COCC had announced Friday it would close all campuses for the weekend, starting at noon Saturday.

Law enforcement responded to several crashes and slide-offs around the region Saturday, though there were no reports of serious injuries. Track the latest conditions on our ODOT TripCheck page.

A weather spotter in southern Deschutes County measured five inches of snow in about three hours.

At noon Saturday, Redmond reported snow and 2 degrees, while light snow was reported at the Bend, Madras and Prineville airports, with temperatures of 1-3 degrees. It was zero degrees in Sisters and -2 at Sunriver, with a wind-chill index of -21. Other temperature readings included zero in Culver, 5 degrees in Prineville, 1 at La Pine, -3 at Lava Butte and 20 degrees at Wanoga Butte.

Redmond Airport's website showed four Saturday afternoon and evening arrivals canceled and one departure as well, as weather issues hit a wide area beyond the High Desert. Airport Director Zachary Bass said the airport had been operational all day Saturday, but weather issues across the region had led to flight cancellations.

NWS also said a caller around 4 p.m. Saturday reported 7 inches and snowing hard on Bend's Westside.

NewsChannel 21 Chief Meteorologist John Carroll said the "temperatures are extremely dangerous," and that "even a 10 mph wind will make it feel like 15 to 20 degrees below zero. This is the real danger this weekend and into next week."

Similar readings and sub-zero wind chills (despite light winds) were recorded throughout the region. Meacham, which often is the coldest part of the state, had a low of -26 while it dropped to -14 in Walla Walla, Washington. Walla Walla smashed its old Jan. 13 low temperature record of -5, set in 2017.

Things weren’t any better west of the Cascades, with a winter storm warning in place for the Portland area and a blizzard warning until midnight in the Columbia Gorge, where up to a foot of snow and winds gusting to 55-70 mph could result in white-out conditions and topple trees.

After two days of weather-related closures, Mt. Bachelor crews were working hard amid continuous heavy snowfall Saturday to open lifts, as the base depth quickly climbed toward and past 6 feet. De-icing work also delayed some lift openings on Sunday.

Up at Hoodoo, the "super-snowy opening week" continued, and like Bachelor warned visitors to be aware of the higher danger of tree wells and snow immersion suffocation, so to ski or snowboard with a buddy.