The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Folks in Sisters Country might be forgiven for looking askance at anyone who says "better late than never" when it comes to winter storms.

After a relatively mild and dry January and early February - and after several predicted storms fizzled out or skirted the area - Sisters got hit with a mighty wallop Sunday and Monday as a heavy winter storm dumped more than two feet of snow.

Massive snowfall in the Cascades caused avalanches that blocked all or part of Highway 20 near Santiam Pass on Sunday and Monday, delaying or halting travel. Commuting to Bend and Redmond was possible - if you could get out of your driveway - but not very pleasant.

Many local residents were simply stuck at home on Monday morning, waiting to get driveways plowed or blown out, as snowplow crews struggled to keep up with the steadily falling snow.

The snow was heavy - and not just in rate of fall. Branches and whole trees cracked under the weight, sometimes falling on vehicles in driveways.

School was called off across the region on Monday, and meetings and events were cancelled. The Sisters Science Club promises to reschedule their Frontiers in Science lecture on "fake news" after cancelling the Tuesday-night event due to the all-too-real weather conditions.

Snow showers are expected to persist through the week, with partial clearing for the weekend. The snow won't melt off too quickly though - high temperatures are not expected to crack 40 over the next several days.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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