Portland, Oregon, braces for worst of northwestern US winter storm
Portland, Oregon, will continue to bear the brunt of a winter storm invading the northwestern United States this weekend.
The same storm system unleashing flooding rain and heavy mountain snow in northern and central California will spread a wintry mess across the Northwest.
Rain is mostly falling along the I-5 corridor with the exception in the Portland area, where a more prolonged ice event has unfolded.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are now climbing past 0.2" of ice accumulation here in NE PDX <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdxtst?src=hash">#pdxtst</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/orwx?src=hash">#orwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/e1X5WOEL0k">pic.twitter.com/e1X5WOEL0k</a></p>— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSPortland/status/818211301558206465">January 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Around 4,000 people have lost power in the Portland area, according to Portland General Electric.
“Very cold air is in place as strong east winds are delivering chilly air through the Columbia River Gorge into Portland,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.
As that cold air is locked in place, Samuhel said the moisture-laden storm will deliver heavy precipitation at times through Sunday.
Freezing rain will last into Sunday evening in the Portland area.
“Freezing rain may accumulate upwards of half of an inch, which is more than enough to bring down trees and power lines,” he said.
The highest ice totals will be in the eastern suburbs, which will stay colder the longest.
Even in the few hours after temperatures rise above freezing, there can still be icy spots on cold roads and sidewalks.
Periods of plain rain will follow for Monday and Tuesday in Portland. However, periods of rain and highs being held to the lower 40s will put power crews not properly dressed for the wet conditions at risk for hypothermia.
Meanwhile, enough snow and icy mix to plow and cause slippery travel will push from south to north across the interior Northwest this weekend.
All snow is expected in Spokane, Washington, while an icy mix will target in Pendleton, Oregon.
Motorists planning to travel on stretches of I-84 and I-90 should prepare for slick conditions.
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