Chilly weekend ahead, wintry mix possible across the Cascades Saturday

Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – Clouds are going to increase as the we move through the night with a pocket of cooler air arriving as well. There is a good chance for a wintry mix of rain and snow overnight and early Saturday morning above 5000 feet.

Anyone traveling across the Cascades will need to be aware that there may be some slick roads into Saturday morning. The better chance for snow is north of the Central Oregon Cascades; Government Camp may see a few inches accumulate while Willamette Pass will see wet snow.  This activity will decrease as the day moves along, ending around noon or earlier.

Otherwise, the high desert will be mostly cloudy and chilly the cold pocket of air settles in for the weekend.  The high temperatures on Saturday will be in the low to middle 50s and slightly warmer on Sunday, reaching the upper 50s.

Sunday will be mostly sunny and breezy with across the region temps in the upper 50s. The normal high for this time of year in Central Oregon should be around 67 – 68 degrees, so roughly 10 degrees cooler than average for mid-May.

Monday the mercury in the thermometer will return to normal as we get to the upper 60s.  Sunny and breezy conditions will define the day.

Tuesday will be slightly milder as highs reach the 70s. Expect the above normal conditions to be with us through the rest of the work week.  Precipitation is not in the forecast next week; therefore, a dry and above normal weather pattern is expected.

The Drought Monitor is released each Thursday from the Climate Prediction Center and this week we have two areas in the Extreme Drought category.  The low snowfall this season leading to significantly below normal snowpack is contributing to the drought situation.

Also, we have been above normal with respect to temperatures this spring, so the snow is melting and water is evaporating much quicker than usual.  Reservoirs are low and streams and creeks are low and the flow is slow.  No rain is in the forecast this upcoming week, so conditions are expected to worsen, and the fire danger will increase as well. We have only received around 10 - 15% of our normal rainfall for the past 30 days here in Central Oregon adding to the drought situation.

Be aware of our dry conditions and exercise caution when out and about, we do not need to see any human caused fires, obviously, so stay aware of the parched conditions.

Please, Stay safe.

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