Local Alert Weather Day: Tracking Heavy Mountain Snow

BEND, Ore (KTVZ) - There is the chance for a few rain or mixed showers this morning in Deschutes and Crook Counties but a clearing is expected by lunchtime today. Today should be pretty uneventful otherwise. Temperatures are near normal, in the upper 30s and lower 40s.

Conditions will stay dry through your daylight hours on Tuesday but rain and snow in the high desert will return Tuesday night.

Snow and mixed showers will continue Wednesday and linger Thursday before clearing out as we approach the weekend.

A Winter Storm Warning has been released by the NWS for the Cascades, eastern slopes, and areas south of Bend. The alert is active from 4am Tuesday until 4pm Thursday. I’m tracking heavy mountain snow this week. While this is great news for snow riders, you’ll want to postpone any travel through those passes until things clear out this weekend. If you can't, make sure you have a winter car kit packed.

The mountains are expected to receive around 2 feet of snow by the end of the week, give or take. I’m tracking the potential for between 2-5” in areas like Sunriver and La Pine. We’ve gone ahead and issued a Local Alert Weather Day for Wednesday. You’ll notice wintry weather and impacts in the days following, but Wednesday will be the most impactful day of the week.

Keep in mind that there is a large elevation difference from La Pine to Madras. So, while there is an Alert Day on Wednesday, areas north of Redmond won’t see enough snow to actually warrant an Alert Day. This is more so for the high elevation areas in our region.

Happy Monday! Have a nice day.

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