© Ryan BrenneckeSeven-year-old Cole Ruff works on digging a snow fort in a large pile of snow after his father shoveled their driveway Monday, Feb. 25, 2019.
Between 13 and 16 inches of snow had fallen on Bend by midday, with close to 20 inches near La Pine, said Marc Austin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton. More snow continued to fall throughout the day but began to taper off late in the afternoon.
"Conditions are still going to stay pretty nasty even though it might not be snowing," Austin said.
A one-day snow total — from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday — of 12.5 inches set a new record in Bend as the highest February total since the agency started tracking it in 1901. The previous record was 12 inches, on Feb. 18, 1953.
Some residents in Bend were reporting snow depths of up to 20 inches by the end of the day Monday.
Forecasters expect Tuesday to be calmer, but a new storm will come in Wednesday; 3 to 6 additional inches of snow are expected to fall on Bend this week, most of it Wednesday and Thursday.
"We have more snow on the way, unfortunately," Austin said.
In Bend, residents were seen skiing down city streets. Heavy snow weighed down tree branches and piled backyard grills and public art displays. Teenagers and adults on an unexpected snow day trudged through knee-deep snow to shovel driveways, and residents reported seeing multiple cars stuck.
Mt. Bachelor ski area got a whopping 42 inches of snow in 48 hours, bringing the base to 125 inches by 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The snowstorm grounded flights at the Redmond Airport, which closed its airfield Monday morning and expected to keep it closed through noon Tuesday. The rate of snowfall affected electronic equipment needed to safely use the airfield and runway conditions were too slick.
U.S. Highway 20 closed early Monday morning because of an avalanche about 2 miles west of Santiam Pass. The avalanche was cleared and the highway reopened at 7 p.m.
The Oregon Department of Transportation was reporting multiple crashes and on-ramp closures on U.S. Highway 97 in and around Bend.
The city of Bend closed its offices for the day, but police, fire and road crews kept working. The city, along with government agencies throughout the region, urged residents to stay home if they could.
Bend spokeswoman Anne Aurand said she was one of three or four city employees who made it into City Hall by midday Monday. The city expects to resume other services Tuesday.
Tuesday also could bring a declaration of an emergency snow zone on some busy narrow streets including parts of NW Wall, Bond, Broadway and 17th streets; Tumalo, Chandler, Troon and Conners avenues; and Courtney Drive. If the city does declare a winter parking emergency, cars parked on those streets could be towed.
On Monday, Bend suspended its downtown parking enforcement and allowed employees and visitors to park all day or overnight in the downtown parking garage.
But what about the ones daddy doesn't know about?
R.C.