Heavy Snow in Lower Columbia Basin, Oregon

Persistent troughing off the coast of the Pacific Northwest focused a stream of mid-level moisture over the Inland Northwest resulting in a long duration snow event as the plume drifted north and south several times between the 22nd and 27th of February. Snowfall rates were greatly enhanced over central Oregon with the proximity of a nearly stationary surface boundary where snowfall rates were in excess of 1 inch per hour. Storm total snowfall amounts were measured at: 40 inches in Sisters, 33 inches in Bend, 30 inches in Redmond, 26 inches in Meacham, 22 inches in Prineville, 21 inches in Elgin, 16 inches in Mitchell, 14 inches in Lostine and La Grande, 12 inches in Pendleton and Joseph and 10 inches in John Day. In Bend a few roofs collapsed under the weight of the snow.