Dry pattern into the weekend, mountain showers Saturday

Bend, Ore (KTVZ) – Plenty of sunshine today as a ridge of high pressure maintains a grip on the region, for now. The highs today will be in the middle 70s as sun baked Central Oregon enjoys a quiet day. There are changes on the way for the weekend, with the mountains getting some light rain with a bit of snow mingled in.

Friday will be the transition day or the setup day as clouds will move in as the day moves along. The high temperatures will be in the low 70s, which is about normal for early June. The cloud cover doesn’t take over until the late afternoon, so the mercury will be able to get to that number before clouds limit the heating process.

Rain will fall on the crest of the Cascades before sunrise Saturday and above 7000 feet we may see a mix of rain and snow. The chance for the precipitation to make it past the east face of the mountains is very low, but I do expect mostly cloudy to overcast skies along 97.

The other aspect to this cloudy scenario is the cooler temperatures. I expect highs Saturday to be in the upper 50s and low 60s.  The feature responsible for the cooler conditions is a large area of low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere. This low is the one I have been following all week as it has meandered across the Gulf of Alaska. The low crosses the coastline Saturday near British Columbia and the cold air with some moisture cycles into Oregon Saturday.

The low will push east Sunday and pull the moisture and cooler air with it. Highs Sunday will be back into the 70s under partly sunny to mostly sunny skies.

Don’t get too used to it as another, more robust, upper level low move into the area Monday. Ahead of this low will be more widespread rain that will overtake most of the Pacific Northwest. Right now, it looks like steady and soaking rains in Central Oregon, which is what we need.

Periods of rain will maintain a presence in Central Oregon through the middle of next week. Slow and steady rain will be more beneficial to the soil and currently the forecast reflects that scenario.

Highs Monday through Wednesday will be in the middle 60s under mostly cloudy skies. Dry and warmer weather will hold off until at least next Thursday.

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.