Rain and snow arrive today, Winter Storm Warning for parts of Central Oregon

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Cascades, including the cities of La Pine, Sisters, and Sunriver. All mountain passes will be impacted by as much as 8 - 15" of snow while the lower elevations may see 3 - 5". There will be some rain at the beginning of the event, but a transition to snow will occur later this afternoon as a colder air arrives. Due to the rain arriving before the snow, we may see some icy conditions overnight.

The rain will keep the snow totals down from what is being anticipated by the computer models, but that also brings the variable of icy roads. Dangerous travel late today and Monday due to the slick nature of the roadways especially over the mountain passes. Stay alert, especially on less traveled roads that may not have been treated or tended to.

To dissect this event will take some explaining. This is a complicated weather pattern as the region will be in the 50s early in the day before the switch to snow arrives. The warm sector will get pushed away by the front about 3 pm, and that is when the transition to heavy and wet snow begins. It will not be a flash freeze, but more of a gradual transition, but icy conditions still may exist as we move forward into the evening and overnight.

The snow will mingle with some rain at times on Monday, but the general feel of the day will be more of a wintry scenario with more snow than rain.

This is just the beginning of the wet pattern for the week as more waves of rain and snow arrive into at least Thursday. The persistent nature of the weather pattern may lead to the potential for some minor flooding as the week moves along. Another complication with this pattern is the temperatures. Rising above freezing each afternoon, then dipping to below freezing overnight is a recipe for some black ice.

Late in the week there will be a bit of a warm surge, so the snow and rain will be mainly become mostly rain. This is why we warm to the 50s later this week as the flow will be from the southwest around another deep low pressure trough off the coast takes over the pattern.

Stay Safe and alert.

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