After two months when the freezing level hasn’t dropped below 4,000 feet, there is finally some good news for Oregon skiers!

A colder northerly flow is developing over the region and looks to stay with us for several days. The first storm to set the flakes a flying arrives Wednesday night and Thursday. This will drop a couple of inches of new snow from Mt. Hood to Mt. Bachelor and over into northeast Oregon.

A stronger system with a better supply of moisture arrives Thursday night and Friday, and that one should bring 3 to 6 inches of new snow from Mt. Hood to Mt. Bachelor. Southern Oregon will get a 2-4” inches from this system, but should also pick up another few inches Saturday as northern Oregon begins to dry out.

The timing is pretty great for weekend warriors, as the snow falls Friday and Friday night, but the weather clears for the weekend. First chair or at least the first few rows of the parking lot is not a bad idea Saturday morning.

After a sunny but cold Sunday (another great day to take the family up to enjoy new snow AND clear weather), another system drops in from the north Monday. The snow level will drop to about 2,000 feet with this one but amounts will be lighter, as the system looks a bit moisture starved at this point. It may very well be that Anthony Lakes and northeast Oregon reap the biggest benefit from this system, with 2-6 inches of light fluffy powder falling in NE Oregon. The snow level should easily reach the valley floors, so factor that into your driving plans. Snow showers will linger into Tuesday there too, while the rest of the state clears out.

Beyond Monday, it looks like dry weather returns. But it also should be much cooler than the last several weeks, so the resorts should be able to preserve the new snow that falls from this series of storms.

Bottom line, winter isn’t over yet, in fact the best may be yet to come.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino
KGW Chief Meteorologist