Winds and freezing temperatures to linger Friday, before some relief this weekend

Good, snowy (and COLD!) Thursday evening, Central Oregon!

If you’ve been outside today, you saw more of the same of what we’ve been dealing with. 

A winter storm has been showering much of the Pacific Northwest with snow accumulation, frosty windshields and strong winds keeping visibility low.

A high pressure ridge formed in the Pacific Ocean and pushed strong winds and winter weather to the coast. 

This, combined with the recently formed low-pressure system off the coast between Portland and Seattle, has continued to pull in the snow, wind and cloud coverage to our area.

Here on the High Desert, we’ll continue to see a chance of precipitation throughout the night, but that should end by early morning Friday. 

Another possible half-inch to an inch or so of snow is possible throughout the High Desert. The mountains may receive a bit more accumulation as well. 

As we move into Friday, the precipitation should clear up, but the sub-freezing temperatures will not. Extremely cold lows are expected throughout Central Oregon overnight.

Friday brings a break from any new precipitation, but the highs won’t bring much relief. 

We’re looking at all of the High Desert still at or below freezing during the warmest parts of the day tomorrow. 

As a result, the snow and ice melting away on Friday is unlikely. 

Fortunately, we will see a bit of a break this weekend, starting on Saturday. Sunny skies and a temperature jump of about 20 degrees on average should melt away any of the remaining snow and ice and give Central Oregonians a great chance to get outside -- this before a renewed chance of precipitation at the beginning of next week. 

Even with the possible snow and rain early next week, the good news is the temperatures are not projected to be as low as they are dropping now. So brighter and a bit warmer days are on the horizon.

Matt Degenhardt from the NewsChannel 21 Weather Center.

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