LOCAL AREA
The Central Oregon region encompasses the dramatic snow-capped mountain ranges, farmlands, and high desert plateaus of Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Equally diverse are business opportunities here with a mix of well-established manufacturers, an expanding high technology sector, world-class tourist destinations, and some of the nation’s most livable communities.
The geographical climate for Central Oregon is predominately High Desert. Summer temperatures range from an average high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Average highs in winter are in the 40's to lows in the 20's. Precipitation ranges from 10.5 to 12.04 inches, annually. Every community in Central Oregon has its own variations of temperature and precipitation, relative to its elevation and proximity to the mountains. With only an average of 8 -15 inches of precipitation per year, Central Oregon's warm days and cool nights appeal to many from areas with a reputation for rain (Portland, Seattle), as well as those used to sunny, warmer climates such as San Jose and Los Angeles. Interestingly, the region lies on one of the nation's largest rain gradients: Redmond receives an average of 8.6 inches of precipitation and is only 60 miles away from a region in the Cascade Mountains that receives 120 inches. Every community in Central Oregon has its own variations of temperature and precipitation, relative to its elevation and proximity to the mountains. Central Oregon’s weather is influenced by storms that come off the Pacific Ocean, which typically bring warmer, moist air. Most of the moisture is dumped in Western Oregon in the form of rain (and lots of it) in the lowlands and snow in the upper elevations as the storm system hits the Cascades. Little of this moisture makes it to Central Oregon, thereby creating our desirable high desert climate.