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Portland, [OR.] metro area braces for deep freeze [Willamette Valley also]
KGW.com ^
| 12-29-03
| ABE ESTIMADA and JIM PARKER
Posted on 12/29/2003 5:19:18 PM PST by Salvation
Portland metro area braces for deep freeze 03:19 PM PST on Monday, December 29, 2003
By ABE ESTIMADA and JIM PARKER, kgw.com Staff
The Willamette Valley could jump from the snowy depths into treacherous ice as overnight temperatures drop into the mid-20s.
Melting snow left over from Monday morning’s storm could quickly turn into frozen slush as day passes into night, said KGW meteorologist Bruce Sussman.
Already, Oregon Department of Transportation crews are preparing for the worst. Between 50 and 75 ODOT personnel are ready to move out and target potential problem areas, said spokesman Shawn Uhlman.
Those problem spots could be Highway 26 at the top of the Sylvan Hills, the hardest hit area in Portland. ODOT plans on laying down sand on heavily-traveled roads that are frozen.
If the pavement is dry, ODOT will deploy de-icing agent first on bridges, on-ramps and off-ramps that could freeze overnight before moving to other areas, Uhlman said. De-icing chemicals won’t work on wet roads.
“We’re going to continue to have all our forces out on the roads and do everything we can,” Uhlman said.
Much of the snow fell on the west side of the Willamette River in Portland, turning the morning commute into a slippery sledding track along the Sunset Highway at the top of Sylvan Hills.
Cars spun into roadsides at the top of the heavily-traveled freeway during the pre-dawn hours, while other commuters traversed slushy side streets.
A Pacific storm system trudging in a southeast direction dragged frigid air from the Columbia River, causing snow to fall throughout the Willamette Valley, Sussman said.
But before it passed to the east side of the Cascades on Monday morning, the storm dropped up to four inches of snow fell on the West Hills and other hilltops around the Portland-Vancouver area, Sussman said.
The hardest hit metro area in the Willamette Valley was Salem, which saw between four and six inches of snow on the ground. In Dallas west of Salem, residents there reported snow depths of up to 10 inches.
“Salem got a more direct blow from the storm than we did,” Sussman said.
Much of the snow ended by 9:30 a.m. in the Portland-Vancouver area and a snow advisory that was issued Sunday night by the National Weather Service was lifted by late Monday morning.
Tri-Met bus service was disrupted throughout the Portland area.
“Some buses serving the SW hills and surrounding areas are on snow routes this morning,” said Tri-Met’s Bruce Solberg. “Bus riders in the area should expect minor delays because buses have chains on their tires. Riders heading to Marquam Hill and the Oregon City hill areas will transfer to buses with chains.”
A few routes, like 157- Happy Valley, were cancelled due to the snow.
MAX train service, though, was unaffected. Solberg said it remained on a regular schedule.
In Clackamas County, all ten plows and three sanders were on the roads Monday morning. When snow levels dipped to 300 feet in Clackamas County, lower elevations there saw about one inch of snow and up to 8 inches of snow in the Molalla foothills, county officials said.
The snow was expected to taper off later Monday, with highs reaching into the 40s. But temperatures are forecast to fall to the 20s overnight, making for freezing driving conditions on Tuesday morning.
|
Firefighter and paramedic Tom Henke outside Albany Fire Station 11 on Monday morning. (Photo courtesy of Tom Henke) |
The snow storm was peculiar in that certain areas of the Portland metro area, such as the West Hills, got plenty of snow while east of the Willamette River, such as Gresham, barely any snow fell, Sussman said. Cold pockets settled over certain areas, creating "micro-climates" in the Portland area ripe for snow, he said.
Several inches of snow fell during the weekend in the Coast Range, the Columbia Gorge and the foothills of the Cascades. Above 2,500 feet, mountain areas received at least six inches.
"Some places made the cut. Some places didn't," Sussman said.
|
A driver attempts to push his car out of a jam in the Sylvan Hills area of Portland. (KGW Photo) |
So much snow had fallen at the Siskiyou Summit as of Monday morning that Oregon State Patrol troopers said they had to shut down I-5 from the summit to Shasta, Calif. The troopers reported blizzard conditions and multiple accidents.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; US: California; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: oregon; portland; snow; storm; valley; willamette
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To: Salvation
I will continue to take my chances with the summer hurricanes!
76 and partly cloudy today in Tampa!
Hope this blows over real quick for ya'll up there!
21
posted on
12/29/2003 7:15:32 PM PST
by
sarasmom
(Message to the DOD : Very good , troops.Carry on. IN MY NAME)
To: DeSoto
22
posted on
12/29/2003 7:17:00 PM PST
by
CyberCowboy777
(This Quiet Diplomacy was brought to you by BIG STICK foreign policy.)
To: JimSEA
Roseburg?
My Wife's grandparents live there (as do some other family) and we were just down there 19, 20, 21.
They are now north of town by the old damn...(north Umpqua river?)
23
posted on
12/29/2003 7:20:15 PM PST
by
CyberCowboy777
(This Quiet Diplomacy was brought to you by BIG STICK foreign policy.)
To: DeSoto
That's exactly why I look at clearcuts and see money. The tree right in front of our living room window fell over roots and all. Luckily it was only about 15 feet tall and fell away from our house.
Seriously, after working through 5 Portland winters as a garbage man (before moving to Salem) I'll never allow a tree to get big enough to damage my home. I saw some crazy results of winter storms like trees basically exploding during freezing rain storms.
24
posted on
12/29/2003 7:21:02 PM PST
by
Tailback
To: Salvation
Down here in creswell it started at 9:30 and went all day! iam worried about my hubby he works nights in Eugene,he took the suburban tonight.but i hear its going to get real icy. ive been out in the snow off and on taking pictures,i got a great one of the train as went by this afternoon! hope everyone stays warm and safe.
25
posted on
12/29/2003 7:22:19 PM PST
by
suzyq5558
(Deenie has no claim to national leadership. but he does claim lots of theory conspiracies!)
To: Tailback
I agree with you about trees damaging my house. When we moved into this place several years ago I took down a 3 foot diameter white fir that was directly upwind and 20 feet from my bedroom. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep with that tree there.
The tree that split is about 100 feet from the house, next to my son's treehouse, and not far from our pump house and greenhouse. See here for a picture of the damage. A corner of the house is in the background.
If you have a fast connection there are a bunch of photos here that I sent to my insurance agent (and the jerk said that it wasn't covered 8^( )
26
posted on
12/29/2003 7:33:30 PM PST
by
DeSoto
To: DeSoto
Oops, for single picture, click
here
27
posted on
12/29/2003 7:36:14 PM PST
by
DeSoto
To: CyberCowboy777
That is a very pretty spot out by the river and the community college. You can't find much prettier country than Oregon.
28
posted on
12/29/2003 7:40:30 PM PST
by
JimSEA
To: Salvation
Big thanks for the ping....we had some snow here today, Eugene & Springfield.
Not at all like Salem and Portland.
I do love the white stuff!
To: SAMWolf
Big difference between West Coast snow and Midwest snow.
The Midwest variety tends to be light and fluffy and blows/drifts around.
Pacific storms bring in heavy wet snow that collapses roofs, bogs down vehicles, and is he11 to shovel.
I have lived in both NoCal mountains and Wisconsin. I'll take the Wisconsin "tree flocking" lightweight powder any day.
30
posted on
12/29/2003 7:46:15 PM PST
by
petuniasevan
("He's dead, Jim. Grab his tricorder, I'll get his wallet!!!")
To: petuniasevan
You're right about that. It'd take a heck of a wind to move the snow on my driveway right now.
31
posted on
12/29/2003 7:50:35 PM PST
by
SAMWolf
(Being french means always having to say "I surrender")
To: Salvation
Heh, heh, my brother moved to Salem about 10 years ago because of their mild climate; hummmmm.....
But the temp had fallen to about 16 degrees in Tuolumne county as we were leaving this morning. It had been in the mid 20's during the night. This must be caused by 'Global Warming,' right???
32
posted on
12/29/2003 8:07:26 PM PST
by
editor-surveyor
( . Best policy RE: Environmentalists, - ZERO TOLERANCE !!)
To: petuniasevan
I'm in Bend Oregon at 4000'. We had 20" of snow in the last 18 hours. Very light & fluffy - coast gets most of the mositure - wet snow is a result.
This was our biggest snow of the year so far...but we have had eight others that were beautiful.
Another storm coming tomorrow night...and another a couple of days after. Batten down the hatches, matey.
happydog
33
posted on
12/29/2003 9:04:33 PM PST
by
happydogx2
(Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards men....unless they are terrorists.)
To: happydogx2; blackie
This was blackie's house in Eugene this morning.
34
posted on
12/29/2003 9:14:35 PM PST
by
uglybiker
(If it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'!)
To: CyberCowboy777
(I live up the gorge @ 1500ft) Me, too.
but man when I get down in the valley.... those low landers scare me.
No kidding. They're bad enough in rain!
35
posted on
12/29/2003 9:34:03 PM PST
by
B Knotts
(Go 'Nucks!)
To: Tailback
I think you're right on the 1996. I was trying to remember when that was -- about 8 inches in Keizer if I remember correctly.
36
posted on
12/29/2003 9:52:50 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: Tailback
I also remember driving to Portland about 20 years ago on New Year's eve and losing a hose. What a bummer. Seems like we got home in the wee hours of the morning after being towed to a open shop in Portland. And believe me there weren't many since it was New Year's eve.
37
posted on
12/29/2003 9:57:25 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: editor-surveyor
**This must be caused by 'Global Warming,' right???**
Yeah! LOL!
38
posted on
12/29/2003 10:00:55 PM PST
by
Salvation
(†With God all things are possible.†)
To: B Knotts
East or west of Hoodriver?
What version of Linux do you use?
39
posted on
12/29/2003 10:02:33 PM PST
by
CyberCowboy777
(This Quiet Diplomacy was brought to you by BIG STICK foreign policy.)
To: Salvation
In '96 we were without power for 4 days with 4ft snow drifts and a terrible east wind.
That was a bad storm.
40
posted on
12/29/2003 10:07:19 PM PST
by
CyberCowboy777
(This Quiet Diplomacy was brought to you by BIG STICK foreign policy.)
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