Medford dodged Monday morning's snow, but things could be different today.

Forecasters were predicting 1 to 3 inches of snow overnight on the valley floor by Monday morning, but most of the snow fell north of Medford or in the hills to the west. Their forecast for today was nearly identical to the one for Monday: snow levels dropping to the valley floor overnight, then rising to 2,000 feet during the day, with additional showers of rain or snow scattered through the day.

As much as 6 inches of additional snow could fall above 2,000 feet by today, and another 10 inches of new snow in higher elevations such as Mount Ashland, where 63 inches have fallen during the past seven days.

Snow has been a once-a-year event — at most — around Medford for the past few years, but the atmospheric conditions that are bringing cold temperatures and lots of snow to Southern Oregon right now aren't unusual, said Katie Burtis, a forecaster for the National Weather Service office in Medford.

"It's just one of those years," Burtis said.

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Arctic air is flowing across the region, keeping temperatures low and pushing snow levels down. Medford's high temperature Sunday was just 45 degrees, and Monday it was just 43, far below the late February average of 56 degrees.

Winter weather can be seen as a series of daily events that when looked at over time tend to fall into broad patterns, said George Taylor, director of the Oregon Climate Service. Sometimes a pattern develops and persists before it's replaced by something else.

There are a number of winter weather patterns. Some storms bring warm rain from subtropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. Other storms come in fast and blow through Southern Oregon, while others move more slowly, dumping heavy rain as they go.

There are dry spells, too, like the one in January when high-altitude winds carried storms away from Oregon, bringing the Rogue Valley clear skies, sunny spring-like afternoons, cold nights and frosty mornings.

The National Weather Service thinks the current spell of cold and wet will last at least through the weekend. Forecasters at the national Climate Prediction Center were expecting below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for Western Oregon through the end of the week.

Monday's heavy snow in the Cascades forced managers of Crater Lake National Park to close the entrances to the park on Highway 62. The park service reported 34 inches of new snow Sunday and Monday, and forecasters were expecting as much as 24 inches of new snow over the next two days.

For information about when the road will reopen, call 541-594-3000.

The Oregon Department of Transportation was advising drivers to carry chains for all routes that cross mountain passes. For road information, call 1-800-977-6368.

On the Web: www.cpc.noaa.gov/

Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492 or e-mail:bkettler@mailtribune.com.