Winter came to Bend this January in full force. A series of heavy storms dumped up to 2 feet of snow in some areas, and a cold snap shortly afterward plummeted temperatures to below zero with freezing rain.

The consequences reached across Oregon. Redmond Airport closed twice due to freezing rain; five members of a family were killed in a car accident south of La Pine that orphaned its 11 year-old, and severe weather shut down Mt. Bachelor ski area, one of the largest employers in Deschutes County.

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But the series of severe weather events paled in comparison to record-setting weather events from Bend’s history, the kind when meteorologists measure snow not in inches, but in feet.

Here are the top record breaking winter weather events dating back over a hundred years.

‘Big Blue Snow’ of 1919

Not enough plowing, broken water mains, closed schools — not much has changed in the last century for Bend residents when the city gets hit with a major storm.

The cold front came to be known as the “Big Blue Snow” and had major impacts for residents in December 1919. Schools closed, railroad travel was disrupted and both the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Co. and the Shevlin-Hixon company suspended operations, leaving 2,000 millers without work.

There was already 8 inches of snow on the ground when more snow began to fall around 1 p.m. Dec. 9. So much snow fell that Tuesday night that it dammed tributaries leading to the Deschutes River, cutting the flow down to a third of normal.

On the morning of Dec. 10, a footbridge across the river collapsed due to floating ice and slush, taking an 8-inch water main with it. By later that night, the accumulated snow topped 47 inches in Bend and temperatures were 11 degrees below zero, The Bulletin reported.

“Motor traffic was stopped Tuesday night, and by Wednesday morning few wheeled vehicles of any description were able to make their way through the snow, and then only when pulled by one or two extra teams of horses,” wrote The Bend Bulletin, as this paper was known, on Dec. 11.

But did the 1919 storm set a record? Depends on who you consult. The Bulletin reported that the one-day snowfall total was 36 inches. The National Weather Service reported something else indeed: 10 inches on Dec. 9.

The record snowfall of winter 1973

More than 50 years later, on Nov. 6, 1973, the National Weather Service declared a record for the largest one-day snowfall in Bend that still stands: 24.1 inches.

By 1973, Bend had grown to more than 13,000 people. The heavy early November snow took city operations by surprise and temporarily delayed snow removal. Highways clogged with accidents, schools shut down and phone companies requested residents stop calling each other.

“Late in the morning, a spokesman for Pacific Northwest Bel released a plea to the public to make only necessary phone calls. Because of the heavy volume, he said, it was important that lines be kept open for police, fire, hospital and other emergency calls,” reported Bulletin staff writer Bill Yates on Nov. 5, 1973.

With such a heavy one-day total, engineers throughout the city warned property owners to quickly clear snow off roofs to avoid damage, but by Wednesday, Nov. 7, the side of a building in downtown Bend collapsed. East of U.S. Highway 20, a metal storage building owned by Tom Anderson of Montgomery Supply, also collapsed, damaging a forklift and other equipment.

That winter, more than 90 inches of snow fell in Central Oregon, and 1973 still holds the record for the highest yearly total of snow for Bend.

2016-2017 doesn’t break records, breaks buildings instead

In December of 2016, Bend residents braced for impact. The National Weather Service warned that on Dec. 14, the storm approaching Central Oregon could break records. Forecasters predicted 9 to 13 inches of snow, with more arriving overnight.

In preparation for the storm, Redmond Airport canceled flights, and airlines made the decision to turn planes around rather than let them spend the night in Redmond. Schools closed and plows were at the ready.

But no records were broken.

A month later, another storm with heavy January snow caused three buildings, or their roofs, to collapse in Bend and buckled the wall of another. The first collapse happened at the former KorPine mill, which had been a particle board factory and a staple of the Old Mill District for decades. The weight of the snow also buckled a wall — and threatened to bring down — the FedEx distribution center in northeast Bend.

The next day, the roof on the gym at Highland Magnet at Kenwood School succumbed to the snow. No one was in the gym at the time, but the collapse prompted Bend-La Pine Schools to cancel classes at all schools for the rest of the week. The loss of the gymnasium building struck a chord among residents who fondly remembered the elementary school gym as a center of school and social life.

About a week later, rain added to the weight of the snow and brought down the roof of the former Ray’s Food Place on Century Drive. The building had been vacant for several years, so no one was inside.

Late 2019 snow doubles February record

Snow totaled more than 25 inches in some areas of Bend and 48 inches in La Pine on Feb. 25, 2019. Even though the highest one-day total for the storm that week measured a measly foot compared to the 24.1 inches of 1973, the total snowfall shattered February precipitation records in Central Oregon.

The previous record for February snowfall was set 102 years earlier in 1917 with 23.3 inches. 2019, doubled that number to 46 inches.

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