Local Alert Days ahead, High Wind Warning and rain/snow tonight, moderate to heavy rain Thursday
Bend, Ore (KTVZ)-- The Local Alert Weather Team has issued a Local Alert Day for the windy and rainy night ahead. The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Warning beginning at 10 pm and ending Wednesday afternoon. Winds will originally be from the southwest then shift to a westerly origin after midnight. Sustained winds near 30 mph and there may be gusts near 65 mph. A cold front will cross the region before midnight and will be the feature that helps shift the winds from southwest to west.
Travel will be impacted by dangerous crosswinds across the High Desert. Trees may topple on power lines causing outages and outdoor inflatable holiday decorations will be relocated if inflated.
Another issue tonight will be the rain that is likely to accompany the wind. This will loosen the soil and compromise the root systems of large tree that may not be able to handle the stress from the wind. Not many trees have any leaves left, but pine trees and fir trees are heavy and may be impacted by the wind.
The rain and wintry mix will end before sunrise so the region will have some breezy winds but not as robust as the overnight time frame. The high temperatures will be closer to normal, topping out in the middle 40s (normal is 40) but will warm again to the middle 50s Thursday.
Overall, a series of low pressure cells will cross the Pacific Northwest and drag warm fronts followed by cold fronts across Central Oregon. Our region will see periods of rain and mountain snow for several days. The rain will be during the daylight hours while the wintry mix and mountain snow will be overnight.
Another Local Alert Day had been issued for Thursday as the region will see heavy rain after a mix of rain and snow starts the day. The rain will melt any snow that accumulated on the Cascades this week so minor flooding is possible across the region. Creeks and streams will be running fast and full at the least.
Be prepared for off and on rain and snow events through the weekend. Driving will be tricky over the next several days.
Please, Stay safe.
Don’t forget to download the Local Alert Weather App to stay connected with our team of meteorologists.
You can get access to LIVE radar and receive urgent weather alerts so you’re always prepared.
