NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Forecast for remainder of the winter looks ‘normal’
Early snowstorms
have mountains
recording 100%
snowpack
By KATY NESBITT
For the East Oregonian
PENDLETON
—
Early season storms have
Northeast Oregon snow
enthusiasts
anticipating
a snowy winter, and the
extended forecast shouldn’t
disappoint.
Most of Oregon’s moun-
tains were well above 100%
of average snowpack by
mid-November, a dras-
tic difference from many
winters in the past decade
when some ranges didn’t
reach 100% the entire year
or at least until well into the
spring.
“The snowpack in East-
ern Oregon, as well as the
rest of the state, looks pretty
good right now,” said Rob
Brooks, a National Weather
Service forecaster in Pend-
leton. “What we anticipate
is a normal amount of pre-
cipitation for Pendleton.”
The Emigrant Springs
Snotel, an automated snow
and precipitation measur-
ing station near Emigrant
Springs State Park south of
Pendleton, had as of Thurs-
day, Dec. 3, measured 6.7
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Snow covers Highway 204 near Summit Road on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020.
inches of precipitation since
the start of the water year
Oct. 1, slightly below the
average of 7.3 inches for that
period.
The High Ridge Snotel,
near Tollgate east of Pendle-
ton, has recorded 12.2 inches
of precipitation since Oct. 1,
compared with the average
of 10.8 inches. The water
equivalent in the snowpack
as of Dec. 3, was 4.9 inches,
slightly above the average of
4.7 inches.
With vast differences in
elevation across the region,
Brooks said snowfall and
weather patterns can also
vary considerably. He said
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Mainly cloudy
A little snow at
times
A bit of afternoon
rain
A shower in the
afternoon
Cloudy with a
couple of showers
41° 33°
46° 31°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
40° 30°
40° 33°
41° 32°
La Nina weather patterns
from the Pacifi c that bring
a lot of moisture, as is pre-
dicted for this winter, have
an impact in Eastern Ore-
gon, but most inland North-
west weather depends on the
timing and speed of the sys-
tems and air temperature.
“Our weather patterns
Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race
canceled for 2021 due to pandemic
Wallowa County
event expected to
resume in 2022
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
41° 31°
48° 28°
42° 32°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
52/44
Kennewick Walla Walla
42/33
Lewiston
51/43
38/30
Astoria
53/42
47/34
42/29
Longview
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Pullman
Yakima 37/29
51/41
49/36
Portland
Hermiston
50/43
The Dalles 41/31
Salem
Corvallis
51/42
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
46/32
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
54/44
53/33
49/26
Ontario
39/20
38/17
43/16
0.00"
Trace
0.37"
3.94"
4.95"
8.87"
WINDS (in mph)
Caldwell
Burns
35°
33°
41°
28°
68° (1938) -7° (2013)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
52/43
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 47/33
51/42
0.00"
Trace
0.32"
12.19"
11.64"
11.83"
HERMISTON
Enterprise
41/33
43/38
32°
25°
40°
27°
64° (1938) -7° (1972)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
53/42
Aberdeen
42/31
35/30
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
53/45
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
52/38
Today
Wed.
SSW 4-8
S 6-12
SSW 4-8
SW 4-8
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
47/25
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020
New
7:23 a.m.
4:11 p.m.
none
1:07 p.m.
First
Full
Last
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 81° in Camarillo, Calif. Low -16° in Yellowstone N.P., Wyo.
Dec 14
Dec 21
Dec 29
Jan 6
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
ENTERPRISE — The
2021 Eagle Cap Extreme
sled dog race, originally
scheduled for January, has
been canceled because of
the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to the ECX
website.
“After considerable dis-
cussion with medical profes-
sionals, community leaders,
and several key volunteers
in the Eagle Cap Extreme
family, we made the diffi -
cult decision to postpone
our 2021 races,” the web-
site states. “We apologize
for any inconvenience this
may cause and look forward
to resuming with the 2022
race.”
Dr. Randy Greenshields,
president of the ECX board
of directors and co-owner
of the Double Arrow Vet-
erinary Clinic, said the
board decided to cancel next
month’s event on Nov. 23,
because of concerns over
keeping people socially dis-
tanced. He said organizers
have been busy getting the
word out to all the mushers
and volunteers.
“We had a lot of vol-
unteers who were pretty
uncomfortable with (hold-
ing the ECX),” he said on
Wednesday, Dec. 2. “We’d
already planned to cancel
events where people were in
close proximity.”
He said although distanc-
ing wasn’t a problem for the
mushers, it would’ve been
for spectators and anyone
attending the awards ban-
quet and people gathered in
warming tents and eating
and sleeping areas.
“It was just real diffi cult
to keep people spread out,”
he said.
Communications were
another problem. Given the
terrain involved in the race,
cellphones aren’t usable and
ham radios are used, again
crowding people together.
“There would be too
many people in close prox-
imity to do it very safely,”
Greenshields said.
Information
on
the
website has already been
changed to refl ect plans for
the 2022 race. Greenshields
said some of the mushers
who planned to compete
next month said rather than
refund their entry fees, the
ECX organization should
just hold onto the fees until
2022.
“We had a ton of people
wanting to race this year but
it’s not to be,” he said. “It’s
a really cool event. Just not
this year, unfortunately.”
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
-10s
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
42° 33°
42° 29°
occur on micro scales,” he
said. “We have small areas
where an inversion sets
up — the basin can be 28
degrees with fog, while it
can be sunny and 60 degrees
in Meacham.”
Precipitation for Pendle-
ton and the basin averages
1.55 inches in December,
1.51 inches in January and
1.17 inches in February.
Winter
temperatures
and precipitation can vary
greatly.
“Last year, we packed up
pretty good, and then had
fl oods caused by rain on top
of the snowpack,” Brooks
said.
According to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
website,
Northeast Oregon should
expect normal to slightly
below normal precipitation
with near normal to slightly
above normal temperatures
for the rest of December.
When discussing what’s
“normal” winter weather,
Brooks pulled up some inter-
esting data. It’s not unusual
to have a 70-degree day in
Pendleton in late January or
early February. Despite the
welcome reprieve from win-
ter’s grip, sometimes these
false spring days cause
disaster. In 1996, a year of
much fl ooding in Eastern
Oregon, Brooks said it was
minus 12 on February 3 and
75 degrees on February 8.
According to Brooks,
the coldest month since
the weather service began
recording temperature in
Pendleton was during the
winter of 1948, when the
average low temperature
was 20 degrees and snow-
pack at Meacham that win-
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
high
110s
low
Copyright © 2020, EO Media Group
he stole a retirement home bus and drove it
from Walla Walla to Prescott, Washington.
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Michael
Tingle, 25, of Walla Walla, Washington,
pleaded guilty to charges stemming from
one of two incidents in October.
Tingle, appearing in Walla Walla County
Superior Court on Friday, Dec. 4, admitted
to stealing from Walmart.
He was arrested by College Place, Wash-
ington, police in early October for allegedly
stealing granola bars from the College Place
Walmart, a place from which he’d been
banned.
Tingle pleaded guilty to one count of
second-degree burglary and one count of
fi rst-degree trespassing from that incident.
Tingle is scheduled to be sentenced Dec.
14 for those crimes.
He is still facing charges of fi rst-degree
burglary and fi rst-degree unlawful fi rearm
possession stemming from an incident that
happened two days after his Walmart arrest.
Tingle is alleged to have broken into a
Walla Walla business and stolen a gun.
His bail is set at $25,000 for that case,
according to Walla Walla County Prosecut-
ing Attorney Jim Nagle.
Tingle made news two years ago when
Tyson Foods goes on offensive
against new waves of COVID
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Walla Walla man pleads
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WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Tyson
Foods announced on Thursday, Dec. 3, pro-
tective steps against the spread of COVID-
19, investing $540 million in safety mea-
sures and testing at its U.S. facilities.
Strategies include walk-through tem-
perature scanners, workstation dividers to
social distance monitors, and always-on
testing, Tyson said in a release.
The Tyson Fresh Meats plant in western
Walla Walla County is working with outside
health experts, expanding its health services
staff, and adding a chief medical offi cer.
The facility also plans to pilot health clinics
for team members and their families early
next year.
Tyson estimates more than half of its
workforce nationwide has been tested for
COVID-19, with more than 1,000 work-
ers examined each week. The company
has more than 600 medical professionals
on staff, with an additional 200 nurses and
administrative staff hired this year.
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