H&N's: Snow dusts Klamath Basin

Snow dusts Basin

H&N photo by Gary Thain
Winter scenes were plentiful in the Basin Thursday as a blanket of snow covered the gravel road leading up to the Chase Mountain lookout.

November 4, 2005

Klamath Falls Herald and News

By DYLAN DARLING

H&N Staff Writer

Welcome to winter weather.

Snow piled up in the mountains and dusted the Klamath Basin Thursday morning, and more is expected this morning.

“I think winter is here,” said State Climatologist George Taylor.

A trace of snow was recorded at Kingsley Field's weather station, and many around the Basin had to dig out the ice scraper to clean snow off their windshields.

Drizzly rain later Thursday, 0.11 of an inch worth by 4 p.m., washed away the snow in the Basin. But snow continued to fall in the mountains.

The Oregon Department of Transportation posted severe weather hazard warnings for Lake of the Woods and Doak Mountain's summit on Highway 140, as well as Willamette Pass on Highway 58.

Two inches of new snow was reported at both Lake of the Woods and Doak Mountain as of Thursday evening.

Two inches of new snow was also reported at Crater Lake, on top of five inches on the ground, but that was at 8 a.m., when the snow was just starting to come down in the mountains.

Five to 8 inches of snow was expected Thursday night in the Southern Oregon Cascades, according to the National Weather Service.

This is probably just the start of winter weather in the Basin and the mountains that ring it, Taylor said. And it comes less than a week after the end of a mostly sunny October that closed with a 64-degree high on Halloween.

Although it was a little chillier than normal, October had 12 clear days, 16 partly cloudy days and a scant three cloudy days, according to the Weather Service. The high for the month was 73 on Oct. 17 and the low was 21 on Oct. 30.

Winter as a season doesn't officially start until the winter solstice, when the sun is its farthest distance from the earth, on Dec. 21, but it's winter now in the Basin.

H&N photo by Gary Thain
Snowfall on Hamaker Mountain was fairly steady Thursday afternoon, covering the needles of pine trees and the less traveled roads.

In September, Taylor predicted a wild winter with above normal precipitation and temperatures.

“I'm still thinking that,” he said Thursday. “I think it is going to be wetter.”

He said his prediction is based on looking at ocean temperatures, global circulation and weather data.

“History does tend to repeat itself,” Taylor said.

So far, this year is shaping up like what led to the winter of 1995-96, which had a warm and wet December in Klamath followed by a very white January. An estimated 47 inches of snow fell during the month.

While Thursday morning's dusting of snow is far from 4 feet of snow, it could just be the start of snowy weather.

Morning snow showers are expected through Saturday. Lows through Sunday night are expected to be below or near freezing.

Thursday's snow started at about midnight. It was fostered by a cold front, said Chuck Glaser, data program manager at the National Weather Service's office in Medford.

“So the temperature plummeted down below freezing and then the precipitation came down over it,” he said.