Mountain Snow has returned, feels more like winter this week

Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – Mountain snow is falling today and should continue off and on through the next few days.  There is a Winter Weather Advisory in place until Tuesday night for the mountains, so anyone traveling through the passes this week should be prepared for snowy conditions. Not all the time, but off and on through the week. The amount will be a couple inches each day to get us to nearly a foot by Thursday. Thursday may be the heaviest day of snowfall.

As for the lower elevations, we should not see all that much snow. It will snow periodically, but the amounts will be light, and the snowfall will be best defined as “spotty” at best.  Thursday may be the day with more widespread snow, that will give us an inch or so before sunrise, but that forecast is still under construction.

 The bigger story this week will be the below normal temperatures as the mercury will only hit the mid-30s for highs each day. This is a far cry from the 72-degree day we had on February 4th in Bend. It has been a mild winter so far and this run of 30s will be a change of pace for sure.

An area of low pressure is pushing through the waters off the coast of Canada and will slide down the coast. This feature will grab the moisture from the Pacific and deposit it across the Cascades this week. The low will drive inland through northern California and southern Oregon and continue to provide some wet weather as we sit in the cold zone.

Once this feature clears the area to the east another low will orbit around the trough and give us some light snow as well. This will be the story for the week.

Thursday, as I mentioned, will be the best chance for some light snow across the high desert.  That will be followed by some clearing conditions and slightly warmer weather.

Saturday will still remain dry but another round of rain and snow is slated to arrive on Sunday.

Enjoy the mountain snow, drive carefully and if you are out and about overnight or early in the day the roads across the tri-counties may be slick.

Please, Stay safe.

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