Wintry pattern persists, snowy and cold over the weekend

The area of low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska is the engine driving the persistent pattern of snow and colder air.  The mountains will be getting feet of snow as the flow of air continues to arrive from the southwest and west. As the mountains get the bulk of the snow, some cities along the east face of the Cascades may get nearly 6” or more.

The snow from the past 24 hours has been measured in Sisters to be 4”, and nearly 3” in Bend, so the totals are getting impressive.  Nothing like the several inches being reported in the Mountains, but still enough to break out the shovels and plows.

Moving forward into the weekend, cities along the highway 97 corridor will be getting periods of snow, but only in bursts and not amounting to much more than an inch or so at a time, with a few pockets of much more. The grand total of snow by Monday in Bend and Redmond may be around 3 inches, south in La Pine and Sunriver, it may be closer to 5 or 7” and Sisters may see up to 8” by Sunday night.

This pattern is expected to continue into Monday so the snow and cold air will define the first week of March.  The snow on Monday may be a bit more robust than what we have see thus far, but only one model is going with that scenario. For the most part, the area will continue to get snow showers on the high desert and heavy snow over the mountains. 

Travel will be impacted by the snow-covered roads all weekend and icy conditions are likely to develop each night as temps drop into the low 20s and upper teens.

There may be some dry days next week, but the cold air is in place so the snow will not melt much. I will melt enough for the roads to ice up each morning.

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