Central Oregon – Sunriver residents are navigating huge piles of snow this past week. With 37 inches (and counting) on the ground Tuesday, Sunriver has seen the most snow accumulation in Central Oregon this winter, according to forecasters.
Other cities around the region are just as inundated with snow. All of the High Desert is reaching record snow depths for January, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton. Many of the records date back more than 20 years.
Bend set a Jan. 10 snow accumulation record Tuesday with 20 inches on the ground, an inch more than what was recorded on Jan. 10, 1993.
Many longtime locals in Bend compare the massive snowfall this winter to the historic winter of 1992-93. That winter has served as the benchmark for this snowy season.
Most snow depth records for Bend were set in January 1993.
Redmond is also shattering record snow-depth amounts from 1993. The city had 15 inches of snow on the ground Tuesday, well above the 12 inches that accumulated Jan. 10, 1993.
Official snow-depth totals have not come in for Madras or Prineville, but it doesn’t take a meteorologist to tell residents in Crook and Jefferson counties that the snowfall is approaching record-breaking depths.
For those tired of shoveling and digging their cars of out parking spots, the weather service is expecting dry weather and no snow later this week. While it may stop snowing for a few days, the cold temperatures will likely leave the mounds of snow on the ground.
When Sunriver residents went to bed Monday night, there was 22 inches of snow on the ground. They woke up with 15 inches of fresh snow. It was the largest accumulation the city has ever seen in one day.
