Heavy mountain snow overnight, snow to wintry mix at lower elevations

Travel issues tonight and tomorrow morning in the region as more snow is on the way. Mountain snow will be heavy, High Desert Snow will be in the 3” range. Expect delays and slow going in all locations, mountain passes will be significantly impacted.

There is a Winter Storm Warning in place for the region until Tuesday morning as snow will return tonight.  The snow will be robust in the mountains with over a foot being forecast by the time the sun rises Tuesday.

The highway 97 corridor will be impacted as well with 3 – 5” of snow likely south of Lava Butte and a couple of inches of snow from Bend to Madras.  Prineville will also see some snow overnight, then a mix after sunrise.  The Ochoco Mountains along with the Paulina Mountains will see several inches as well.

This event will start to taper off by the middle of the morning but some rain is likely to be how this round of wintry weather ends.  The rain falling on the snow will likely generate some patchy fog and possibly some minor flooding as the snow melts due to the rain.  There is a chance for a brief round of rain overnight into Wednesday, but for a brief period ahead of the dry pattern heading into the weekend.

Wednesday will be a mild day as the mercury in the thermometer will reach the low 50s.  Patchy fog will be present at times as the cold air over the snow mingles with the milder air, but I am not expecting much as there may be some breezy conditions to help dissipate the fog.

The rest of the week will be on the mild and dry side as temperatures will be in the upper 40s into the weekend.  Melting snow will be beneficial for our moderate drought conditions, but with the ground partially frozen, it may not be perfect.

The next chance for some rain or snow will be over the weekend.  Saturday is the first day of winter, the Winter Solstice will occur at 1:20 am Saturday morning, when the direct rays of the sun will be over the Tropic of Cancer, and we will see the least amount of daylight with only 8 hours and 52 minutes of daylight possible.

Please stay safe.

Don’t forget to download the KTVZ weather app to stay safe and informed.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ktvz-local-alert-weather-app/id1088330817

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ktvz.android.weather&hl=en_US