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An atmospheric river bearing down on the Pacific Northwest is expected to drop several feet of snow at higher elevations by early next week. Santiam Pass received 13 inches of snow from late Wednesday to Thursday morning. More snow was expected to fall on Thursday.
“It looks like we will have another system coming in after that, which will produce moderate to heavy mountain snow late Thursday through Saturday morning,” said Ed Townsend, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton. Townsend expects around 8 to 12 inches of snow to fall by Saturday at Santiam Pass and Hoodoo Ski Area. Mt.
Bachelor ski area is expected to receive 2 feet of snow by Saturday morning. A winter storm warning for the east slopes of the Cascades was in effect until 10 p.m.
on Thursday, with heavy wet snow expected over 4,000 feet. The warning — for the cities of Sisters, Camp Sherman, Sunriver and La Pine — included blowing snow that could impact visibility when driving. Townsend said a winter advisory or warning may be put in place for Friday but the National Weather Service was still assessing the situation on Thursday.
“We are in a really progressive pattern where we are seeing multiple atmospheric rivers and plentiful moisture pointed towards those Cascades right now. It’s been a pretty wet December. It’s just been very active with storms in the eastern North Pacific,” said Townsend.
Area ski resorts are reporting good conditions for their patrons. On Thursday, Hoodoo Ski Area reported having a 55-inch base with 12 inches of new snow. Mt.
Bachelor had an 84-inch base and 14 inches of new snow as of Thursday. The base at Mt. Bachelor is among the highest currently nationwide, according to On The Snow , a website that provides real-time information on ski areas.
The only other resort with a comparable amount is Mt. Baker in Washington. In Bend, daytime temperatures through the weekend are forecast to reach the low 40s while temperatures overnight will fall to the low 30s.
Snow accumulations in southern and western parts of Bend were forecasted to be trace amounts with rain Thursday night into Friday. Four inches of snow was reported overnight in La Pine and another 1-3 inches was expected Thursday and into Friday. Snowpack in the Upper Deschutes and Crooked River Basin is 146% of normal this winter and precipitation is 112% of normal.
Some of the best snowpack in the region is in the Ochoco Mountains, where snow-measuring sites are 200% to 300% of normal. Mixed conditions (snow and rain) at some recording sites have lowered snowpack in some areas but increased overall precipitation, according to Matt Warbritton, supervisory hydrologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. “This next atmospheric river cycle is forecasted to bring more substantial snow accumulation to the Cascades, notably the central and northern Oregon Cascades with additional impacts across the state,” said Warbritton.
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