Weather forecasters are increasingly optimistic that Oregon’s historically low snowpack could start to see a big turnaround beginning in about a week.

State climatologist Larry O’Neill said forecast models are showing a “pattern shift” from warm and dry weather to wet and cool conditions beginning around Feb. 7-8.

This week is forecast to remain far warmer than normal, with temperatures into the 60s. By the weekend, a system arrives with the potential to bring a lot of mountain snow in a season that has been historically bad thus far.   

“It’s still a ways out, but this pattern looks really good and there is a lot of agreement in the forecast models for a setup that historically brings a lot of snow,” O’Neill said.

It’s needed.

Oregon’s mountains have never had this little snow, statewide, as of Feb. 2 in recorded history. In the Cascade Mountains specifically, the snowpack is only slightly better than 2015.

Statewide, snowpack is 30% of normal.

What’s in the forecast for Oregon?

Currently, there is a high pressure ridge across the West Coast that has deflected storms from the Pacific Ocean and kept the weather dry and, this week, very warm.

Forecast models show that ridge breaking down beginning this weekend and opening a “trough” that should allow storms back into Oregon. Often, this sort of trough, when it comes with northwest flow, brings both wet and cool conditions ripe for mountain snow.

Indeed, some of the forecast models are predicting as much as 44-72 inches in the Cascade Mountains by Feb. 18.

Two key Oregon Democrats on Monday unveiled a plan to increase state revenue by dropping several state tax breaks copied from President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax-and-spending law passed last year.

The plan, put forward by Sen. Anthony Broadman of Bend and Rep. Nancy Nathanson of Eugene, would bring in $342 million in the current biennium by disconnecting Oregon from three tax breaks in Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The proposal comes as lawmakers prepare to face significant declines in state tax revenue in the coming years, along with higher administrative costs, due to policies in the federal law.

The three tax breaks Nathanson and Broadman want to cancel, out of more than 100 in the federal law, apply to interest on some car loans, profits from certain stock sales and upfront write-offs for business machinery and equipment, known as bonus depreciation.

Because Oregon generally duplicates federal tax law, including by creating state versions of federal tax breaks, the tax cuts contained in Trump’s tax law are expected to cost Oregon nearly $900 million in tax revenue during the current biennium, according to state estimates. Nathanson and Broadman’s proposal would preserve a fraction of that amount in state tax revenue this biennium, because it would leave in place most state tax breaks copied from the federal law.

To offset some of the potential harm to businesses and Oregonians who are struggling financially, Broadman and Nathanson have also proposed funding $25 million in tax breaks for businesses that grow jobs in Oregon and $26 million to substantially increase the size of the state’s earned income tax credit for low-income workers.

In total, the bill would net the state an estimated $291 million in the current biennium, Nathanson and Broadman said.

The additional tax revenue the state would collect by cancelling the three new state tax breaks would be used “to protect programs and services for Oregonians and to directly help Oregonians, whether it’s individuals or businesses creating jobs,” Nathanson said Monday morning during a press briefing.

Nathanson chairs the House Revenue Committee while Broadman chairs its Senate counterpart.

For months, lawmakers have been preparing to address an expected budget deficit by developing plans to decouple from some federal tax provisions, trim agency budgets and potentially dip into the state’s reserves. The state’s projected two-year budget deficit shrank from $370 million to $63 million in the November revenue forecast. Lawmakers will receive an updated forecast on Wednesday.

Broadman and Nathanson’s bill could generate more revenue for the state in the next five years, in which the state is expected to lose billions of dollars in federal funding, mostly for food assistance programs and Medicaid. The two lawmakers said their proposal would bring in $308 million in the two-year budget period that begins in summer 2027 and $123 million in the following biennium, not including costs of the two expanded tax credits. The state’s current two-year general fund budget is $37.3 billion.

Broadman and Nathanson said they crafted the plan with the intention of closing tax loopholes for businesses that don’t directly benefit Oregonians. Disconnecting from the bonus depreciation provision alone would bring the state $267 million in the current biennium, the Democrats said — far more than disconnecting from the other two tax breaks might.

They pointed out that businesses will still be eligible for the federal bonus depreciation tax benefit and a similar federal provision that allows businesses to deduct a certain amount of the upfront value of purchased assets.

Broadman and Nathanson said they plan to keep Oregon’s version of the research and experimental expenses tax break in Trump’s bill, one of the largest hits to the state’s revenue according to economists, to ensure that Oregon can remain attractive to businesses interested in operating in the state.

Ending the capital gains tax cut for investors in qualified small business stocks would yield an estimated $39 million in income tax revenue for the state this biennium, Nathanson and Broadman said. Killing the state auto loan interest deduction would yield $36 million, they said.

Both Broadman and Nathanson said they are optimistic that the plan could even receive support from Republicans and business groups, who have generally been opposed to Oregon disconnecting from the federal tax law because of the extra administrative burden and because it could impose higher taxes on businesses.

“The business community sees what we are facing with the federal government essentially taking a billion dollars out of the budget,” Broadman said. “I’m optimistic that they’re going to understand that this is necessary to continue to invest in health care, education and public safety.”

However, the group Oregon Business & Industry vowed on Monday afternoon to “vigorously oppose” Democrats’ plan, introduced to the Legislature as Senate Bill 1507.

“We’ve been asking leaders to ‘do no more harm,’ and this would certainly dig our economic hole deeper,” the group’s president and CEO Angela Wilhelms said in a statement. She said lawmakers in particular should not cancel the state’s new business tax break “that would help businesses — especially small to midsized manufacturers — invest more now in their companies and employees.”

Nathanson and Broadman noted that they plan to keep Oregon’s version of the new federal tax break on tips and overtime. Both those are considered politically popular, even though they affect relatively few households and will deliver mostly quite small financial windfalls.

About 213,000 Oregon households received a state earned income tax credit in 2023, the most recent year for which figures are available. That represents about 10% of households that filed state tax returns. The credits, which are refundable, averaged $222 that year. Broadman and Nathanson are proposing to increase the size of the credits, which deliver the biggest benefit to families earning $20,000 to $35,000 a year, by about 45%.

On Feb. 3, 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5606, declaring Feb. 4, 1987, National Women in Sports Day.

Every year since, National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) celebrates female athletes’ accomplishments and honors the progress women in sports have made toward equality in participation and access.

Wednesday, Feb. 4, is the 40th NGWSD.

A year ago, longtime high school sports writer René Ferrán unveiled for High School On SI a list of the 50 greatest girls athletes in Oregon high school sports history.

Headed up by St. Mary’s Academy legend Anna Maria Lopez through No. 50 Ashley Smith of Oregon City, the list celebrated the rich history of the state’s top female athletes on the 39th anniversary of the creation of NGWSD.

Now, with NGWSD turning 40 this month, The Oregonian/OregonLive tasked Ferrán with adding to the list another 50 athletes who have made significant contributions to the state’s high school sports scene.

We’ll be counting down all week, starting today with No. 100 through No. 91. (The year listed beside each name is the year she graduated from high school.)

Let’s celebrate together the best of the best and their many achievements in their favorite sports.

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100. Piper Daskalos, Jesuit, 2023 (lacrosse)

The Crusaders picked up the mantle as the state’s preeminent girls lacrosse program from Lake Oswego at the end of last decade, ending the Lakers’ three-year championship streak in 2019 to start a run of five consecutive state titles for the Southwest Portland school.

One of the leaders of the changing of the guard was Daskalos, an attacker and midfielder who played on three title-winning teams from 2021-23, earning state player of the year honors in 2022, when she had 62 goals and 21 assists.

She repeated as a USA Lacrosse Magazine All–American her senior year, playing through a broken thumb during the postseason to net three goals in a 15-10 victory over Lake Oswego in the 2023 final. She went on to play at Johns Hopkins University, where she was an Academic All-Big Ten selection last year.

99. Sari-Jane Jenkins, South Salem, 2005 (softball, volleyball, basketball)

Jenkins grew up as the only girl among seven siblings, and she told a reporter at the University of Oregon newspaper, “I worshiped the ground my brothers walked on. I really look up to my brothers as role models.”

One older brother, Andy, starred for the Oregon State baseball team and played six years in the minor leagues, getting as high as Triple-A. Another, Riley, helped Linfield win the NCAA Division III football national championship in 2004.

And Sari-Jane? She earned 11 letters in three sports with the Saxons, twice making the all-state softball team as a catcher before moving to the outfield when she joined the Ducks, where she was a four-year starter and three-time all-Pac-10 selection. She is second on the school’s career stolen base list with 96 and seventh in hits with 230.

98. Isabella Thorndike, Ashland, 2008 (skiing)

Thorndike won the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (OISRA) combined state title in 2006 and 2007 — denying Olympian Jacqueline Wiles the overall title in 2007, the Canby skier’s senior season — and placed second as a senior in 2008.

While Thorndike twice won the overall championship, she never won an individual event title. She twice finished second in the giant slalom and placed third in the slalom each of her final three seasons.

Thorndike didn’t pursue a racing career after college, instead translating her love of the outdoors to becoming a floral design artist in the Medford area and exhibiting with Art Beyond.

97. Rebecca Kim, McNary/Tigard, 2006 (golf)

Kim completed her high school career as a three-time state champion, winning her first two clad in the blue and white of McNary before transferring to Tigard for her final season.

She was the first girl to win three solo titles in a row, twice winning by 10 strokes, and she had a then-state-record round of 69 in each of her three championships.

After her senior year, she won the Oregon Golf Association’s Public Links Championship and the Tournament of Champions, then headed to Duke University, where she played for two years before turning professional.

She played in six USGA events — the 2005 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2006-07, the U.S. Women’s Public Links in 2007-08 and the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.

96. Stephanie Horton, Tigard, 2007 (track and field)

Nine years ago, The Oregonian/OregonLive asked whether anyone would break several of the state’s longest-held track and field records. While some of them have fallen since that time, one that stands is Horton’s 2005 mark in the shot put.

Horton became the first girl in state history to break the 50-foot barrier at an April 27, 2005, dual meet in Forest Grove, throwing 52 feet, 7 inches — the best throw of the year nationally and breaking North Valley’s Christy Ward’s previous state record by almost four feet.

She won the 4A state titles in the shot put and discus that year before heading to the University of Kansas, where as a freshman she won bronze in the shot at the U.S. Junior National Championships.

As a Jayhawks junior, she was an All-American with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, throwing 54-2.5 to set the school record (since broken by Alexandra Emilianov).

95. Taylor Wallace, Henley, 2008 (track and field, cross country)

Wallace won 10 individual state championships and three relay titles with the Hornets, becoming the first Oregon runner to win the 1,500- and 3,000-meter gold medals four consecutive years.

She holds the 4A state record in the 800 and 1,500, although she never ran the 800 at the state meet. She did run the 400 as a senior, placing fourth — and then came back to anchor the Hornets to a third victory in the 4×400 to cement the team championship.

Wallace won two 4A cross country state championships, running the fastest time of the four title-winners as a junior and winning Gatorade Runner of the Year as a junior and senior.

After her senior season, she finished third in the 1,500 at the Pan American Junior Championships in 4:31.76 and won the 2009 Steve Prefontaine Award as Oregon’s best high school runner. She then ran at the University of Oregon, where she became a steeplechaser, qualifying for the NCAA championships in 2012.

94. Kennedy Blanton, Forest Grove, 2025 (wrestling, soccer, track and field)

As girls wrestling continues to increase in popularity, Blanton’s state-record 163 wins likely will fall one day, but until then, the two-time 6A/5A state champion and four-time finalist sits atop the list for most wins and most pins (126) during her four years in a Vikings singlet.

Blanton wasn’t just a standout on the wrestling mat. She was a four-time 6A state qualifier in the pole vault, winning a district title as a freshman and clearing 10 feet in all but two meets her final two seasons. Her steady vaulting never resulted in making the podium at state, as tiebreakers kept her from medaling three times.

She also was a midfielder on the soccer team, playing varsity all four years as the Vikings won 38 games during that time. She decided not to wrestle in college and is attending Oregon State.

93. Madison Odiorne, Summit, 2015 (golf)

Odiorne made history at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis on May 19, 2015, when she carded an even-par 72 to finish at 4-under 140, tying Daniele Giles of Crater atop the 5A leaderboard to secure a piece of her fourth state title.

Odiorne became the first Oregon golfer (boy or girl) to win four individual championships at any classification. She almost didn’t achieve that distinction — as a freshman, she finished behind Churchill senior Caroline Inglis, who was going for her fourth title, but Inglis was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Odiorne’s victory her senior year garnered her the National High School Senior Girls’ Golfer of the Year award from the National High School Coaches Association. Later that year, she won the Future Collegians World Tour girls 13-19 division title.

The two-time Junior America’s Cup team member played at Washington State, where she had three top-10 finishes and seven in the top 20 before graduating and pursuing a medical career. She is now a board-certified physician assistant in cardiology at the Bend Heart and Lung Center.

92. Jamie Stone, Centennial, 2017 (swimming)

Stone dominated the sprints during her four seasons at the Gresham school, becoming the first Oregon swimmer to win four state titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles.

She broke the state record in the 100 freestyle as a junior, winning her third championship in 49.46 seconds. Wilsonville’s Helena Jones broke the record in 2023, but Stone still holds the 6A mark.

Stone never broke the state meet record in the 50 free but held the state record of 22.68 that stood until Kaitlyn Dobler of Aloha surpassed it four years later.

Stone swam at the University of Arizona, where she was a stalwart on the Wildcats freestyle relay teams, earning All-American honorable mention in the 200 and 800 relays as a freshman and sophomore.

91. Sarah Conner, Central Linn, 2019 (wrestling, softball, volleyball, basketball)

Conner was one of the pioneers of girls wrestling in the state, joining North Medford’s Kyleigh Lopez her senior year as one of the first four-time girls state titlists. Lopez and Conner won their first three at OSAA exhibition meets, and they helped the OSAA inaugurate the official girls state championships, with Conner earning the 135-pound title.

Conner was a five-time USA Wrestling All-American, winning a Fargo Cadet national title in 2017, and a three-time Junior National All-American. She was the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Outstanding Female Wrestler of the Year for the state as a senior.

That spring, she was a first-team 2A/1A all-state selection as an outfielder for the Cobras softball team, the second time she was an all-state honoree (she made the second team as a sophomore). She was a second-team all-league volleyball player, and she made the 2A all-tournament first team after helping Central Linn place fourth in the state in basketball.

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The Oregonian/OregonLive will be counting down the state’s 100 greatest girls athletes throughout the week. Check back Tuesday for Part 2 of the series.