Winter sky in Bend (Corvallis, Prineville: ski resort, living in, moving)

[WeMet]

Very specific question for a potential relocation from western WA.

What does the sky look like most days October - March?

Thanks.

[Dry Side]

Often sunny in the morning, cloudy by noon.

[Fiddlehead]

I don't live in Bend, but I check the satellite image for Oregon just about everyday. Consider this a "view from above."

What I see in the midwinter period is a series of storms passing over Oregon. Most of the state is cloudy on the majority of days, with some speckling (but still mostly cloudy) in the east. No, Bend is not sunny. In spring and fall when the Pacific storms are a bit weaker, I often see the strongest differences with mostly cloudy skies west of the Cascades and partly cloudy skies to the east. The east also gets more spring thunderstorms, which tend to be puffy cumulus clouds in the afternoons. I would add that I often see a "rainshadow" pattern with clearer skies from the Cascade crest down the slope to the east to about Prineville or John Day, with more clouds east of that line. This is most pronounced in spring and fall. Bend is in the rainshadow zone.

In early summer and early fall, western Oregon also gets a marine layer that pushes east from the sea to the Cascades foothills. This marine layer brings no rains, but as it burns off in the mornings, it depresses the daytime temps. This is what keeps things relatively cool, cloudy, and green in NW Oregon, whereas the everything east of the Cascades or south of the Rogue-Umpqua watershed divide is sunny and hot. It also depresses summer thunderstorms, which are much more common in the south and east (including Bend).

[delta07]

Fiddlehead is correct from my 3 years perspective living in Bend. The skies in the winter can be sunny, but they can also be overcast and cloudy for days or even weeks on end. I've written about this on other threads in this forum. You can search Bend weather to find those.

[kapetrich]

Bend is cloudier than people in town like to admit. During our winter, we can get consecutive days of cloud coverage and even a 1-1.5 week periods of constant clouds. The major winter weather draw for Bend is the lack of precipitation and sunnier weather (than the valley) all while being 20 mins to the east of mountains which get completely dumped on.

Often time we'll get 2-4 inches of snow in town while the mountains get 1-3 feet. Sometimes we get flurries and/or not a drop in town while the mountains get .5-1.5 feet. It is truly amazing. Sometimes it even snows while the sun is out.

If you don't like winter sports, winter weather, crazy rain-shadow effect weather patters, you may want to think twice about moving here.

WeMet: Since you are from Western Washington, I'd say you will be very pleased with the dryness and cloudlessness Bend has compared to what you are used to, but if you're looking for truly sunny weather in the winter check out the SW-ish region.

[WeMet]

Thanks for the objective analysis. It is much appreciated. I'll be doing a few trips this winter, but it doesn't sound like the whole "300 days of sunshine" line accurately reflects the winter weather.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by WeMet

Thanks for the objective analysis. It is much appreciated. I'll be doing a few trips this winter, but it doesn't sound like the whole "300 days of sunshine" line accurately reflects the winter weather.

Definitely not. 230-270 is more realistic depending on how one defines 'sunshine'. The whole concept is pretty ridiculous, tbh.

In fact, I wouldn't agree with the many cities who use this slogan to describe their weather....not even Colorado by my definition of 'sunshine'. You have to go to the heart of the SW for 300 days of true sunshine in the USA.

[Fiddlehead]

I will say this from living in Colorado. In Durango, I worked up at the ski resort, which received about 300" of snow. It would cloud up, snow a foot or two, and be brilliantly sunny the next morning. No two day ramp up of drizzle, and no fog afterward. Just heavy snow and crystalline sunshine. Sublime. That is rare in the Pacific states. I would imagine that if you want winter sunshine, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona are all MUCH better than anywhere in Oregon. Winter sun is just limiting the PNW. However, if you can slog through the winters, it is one of the most beatiful areas on earth.

For me, it was simply a matter of degree. Down here in S. Oregon, I get a bit grumpy if the rain goes on for week (or if the temps break 90 for three weeks in summer), but for the most part, I shake it all off and just embrace it all. I struggled in Corvallis. No, winters are not sunny here, but neither are they so cloudy that I get depressed and don't embrace life. It seems like it is not an all or nothing thing so much as a personal threshold.

I am awed by the beauty of W. Washington, but I really wonder if I could deal with all that cloudiness and rain. Probably above my personal threshold. A shame because I love the looks of that region.

[WeMet]

Yep. 3 years ago, I lived in Albuquerque and prior to moving here checked out Durango, Flagstaff, Santa Fe, and Taos. The summers in the PNW are unrivaled in my limited view of the world. The winters, however, are the realm of the 4-corners region... especially if you ski.

[delta07]

I have to agree with Fiddlehead again here. While Colorado may not have 300 actual days of sunshine it definitely has more than Central Oregon. There's also a huge difference in the time of year when the sunshine occurs. While Colorado has monsoonal driven thunderstorms in the summer, the winters are generally pretty crisp and clear, save a few hours or maybe a day of snow. Of course, I have experienced some stretches where that is untrue, especially when I lived in a valley location and a strong inversion held the clouds in for almost 2 weeks, but that was rare (only experienced that once that I recall in my 7 years of living in Grand Junction).