Heavy Snow in Ochoco-john Day Highlands, Oregon

The Starr Ridge SNOTEL 11 miles south southwest of John Day, OR measured 7 inches of new in a 24 hour period ending at 1500 PDT. The Ochoco Meadows SNOTEL 13 miles southwest of Mitchell, OR measured 8 inches of new snow in a 24 hour period ending at 2300 PDT.

An upper trough pushed several low pressure systems across the Pacific Northwest in the middle of April. The trough allowed for a much colder than normal air mass to settle into portions of eastern Washington and Oregon, allowing snow levels to drop to the surface across a majority of these areas. This ultimately resulted in snow accumulations in the mountains and lower elevations, with significant snow accumulations being observed in some mountain zones.