First chances of snow in Eugene-Springfield forecast for this week
The first dusting of snow in the Eugene-Springfield area could fall this week, while the Cascade Range in Lane County continues to be hit with heavy snow that's now more than a foot deep.
Tuesday and Thursday night are when there's a chance to see snow mixed with showers in Eugene, according to National Weather Service meteorologist David Bishop. It won't be cold enough to stick to roads, but he said it's possible grassy areas and elevated surfaces will be covered with a small amount of snow.
"The timeframe right now we’re looking at is that Tuesday overnight going into Wednesday morning has the better chance to see some snow, and then on Wednesday overnight it will have kind of warmed up," Bishop said.
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The consistent rain and snow forecasts for the immediate future are good news both for the still-drought-plagued Oregon, along with ski areas that have been waiting to open.
Oregon's mountains were expected to see one to three feet of snow at pass levels this weekend, likely bringing hazardous driving conditions, as a weak atmospheric river collides with cool air from Canada in Oregon's Cascade Range.
There were 12 inches of snow measured near Willamette Pass on Highway 58 as of 7 a.m. Sunday, according to Bishop, less than the whopping two to three feet that had been predicted for that pass and Highway 20 over Santiam Pass.
Snow showers in the Cascades are expected to continue Monday, with four to eight inches of new snow possible at Willamette Pass, and another one to two inches overnight. After a partly sunny Tuesday, snow is forecast to resume Wednesday, with six to 10 inches possible.
Long-term forecast favors cool, wet and snowy conditions
Due to the La Nina winter, forecasters have predicted winter of 2021-22 will be cool, wet and snowy in the mountains.
"It has been fairly wet; it just took a while for the cool part to kick in," NWS meteorologist Daniel Hartsock said.
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Almost every long-term forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration favors wetter and cooler than normal conditions, all the way through March.
"We're expecting snowpack to grow steadily throughout the winter," Hartsock said.
That's good news, as Oregon still is technically in deep drought based on multiple years of below-average precipitation and above-average temperatures, although it can seem odd when rivers are running high and the state is heavily saturated.
Ski areas begin to open
The dump of snow should kick off the winter recreation season in Oregon's mountains, including the state's ski areas.
Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Meadows announced they were opening for the season Sunday. Mt. Hood Skibowl opened Saturday and Sunday for tubing, and its website announced night skiing would open Wednesday.
Mt. Bachelor announced it would open Monday.
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: First chances of snow in Eugene-Springfield is forecast for this week
