This may be my most optimistic and exciting Powder Alert in two years!

The warm storms are over. We’ve got cool to cold conditions AND moisture to work with, the combination that’s been so elusive lately. And every part of the state will reap benefits from the weather pattern that’s evolving as we head toward Christmas.

Thursday will bring a solid 6-10 inches of new snow to the northern and central Cascades of Oregon. That’s followed by another 6-10 inches on Friday and 8 to 16 inches over the weekend. Other than a brief and harmless spike in snow levels Saturday night, the snow level should stay between 3,000 and 4,000 feet.

That adds up to 20 to 36 inches between now and Sunday from Mt Bachelor to Mt Hood.

Farther south, the news is even MORE encouraging. This is the best snowfall pattern for the south Cascades and Siskiyous since perhaps the end of the 2012-2013 season.

The southern Oregon Cascades and Mt Ashland should also get 6-10 inches of snow Thursday. The storm that arrives Friday brings another half a foot or so. The snow level may shoot up Saturday, but as it drops back to 4,000 feet Sunday morning and then down to 2m000 feet Sunday night, heavy snow will accumulate. The area should see three to four feet of new snow above 4,000 feet by Monday morning. Aww yeah.

NE Oregon will not be left out either. The timing is basically the same as above with perhaps a 6 hour lag in the onset of each system. The end result will be the similar, 18 to 30 inches of new snow by next week.

Looking ahead, the pattern dries out next week but stays cold. The snow level will drop as low as 1500 feet, meaning the snow that falls will be light and fluffy powder, like a fine coating of sugar on top of the deep layer of frosting that falls Thursday through Sunday. There will be some weaker systems that ride the cold northerly flow into Oregon and produce two to six inches of snow at a time.

Looking even FARTHER ahead, there may be another wet and cold system dropping in next Friday, for greater snowfall totals than earlier next week, but also with a powdery low snow level between 1,000 and 2,000 feet. If that pans out, this could be the best skiing Oregon’s had for the last half of December in years.

Merry Christmas!

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist