- Portland winter weather: Snow estimate in metro area slightly increases (live updates). Print Email ... on December 14, 2016 at 7:18 AM, updated December 14, 2016 at 2:53 PM. comments ... Live at the National Weather Service Portland.
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Portland winter weather: Snow brings metro area to a crawl (live updates)
8:30 p.m.: Check out a video of a school bus sliding down Southwest 26th Avenue near Capitol Highway in Portland. Be warned: Some graphic language at the end.
Kathryn King said she was standing outside in the snow at her apartment complex around when she decided to take out her cellphone and start recording video about 5:10 p.m.
8:25 p.m. Some snow totals reported around the metro area:
3 inches: Oregon City, Canby, Molalla, Clackamas
2 inches: Gresham, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Forest Grove
1 inch: Downtown Portland and Vancouver
8:15 p.m.: Commuters are reporting hours stuck on snowy roads around the metro area.
ADVERTISING
7:50 p.m.: Closures list for Thursday now includes all campuses of Clackamas Community College; Marylhurst University; the Reynolds School District; Molalla River School District and Oregon Trail School District.
Click the link below for a full list of school closures and delays.
School closures and delays for Portland, Eugene, Bend and Medford, including closures in Vancouver & Southwest Washington.
7:42 p.m.: Slow-going and treacherous driving around the region. Here's Interstate 5 at Nyberg.
A look at traffic backed up on Interstate 5 at Nyberg on Wednesday night, Dec. 14, 2016. It's designed to encourage people to "take alternate means of transportation out of the central city," the Portland Bureau of Transportation said in a statement.
7:15 p.m.: Add the Vancouver, Lake Oswego and Gladstone school districts to the closure list for Thursday.
7 p.m.: West Burnside was a virtual parking lot, stretching from downtown well past Northwest 23rd Avenue. On Twitter, some drivers complained they'd been stuck in traffic for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Some drivers, attempting to find an alternate route to Burnside, ventured up Southwest Vista Avenue, where traction was nearly impossible.
7 p.m.: Hundreds of middle school children were still waiting for a bus in Beaverton as snow paralyzed city traffic and parents struggled to get home from work.
Hundreds
of middle school children were still waiting for a bus in Beaverton at 7
p.m. as snow paralyzed city traffic and parents struggled to get home
from work.
6:04 p.m.: TriMet puts out a statement about transit delays across the area:
All bus lines are experiencing major
delays due to traffic congestion and road conditions. Buses are on snow
routes, which includes some lines being cancelled. Riders can check trimet.org/alerts
to see if their line has a snow route. Also, MAX lines are experiencing
some delays due to tracks being blocked by traffic congestion. LIFT is
running life-sustaining trips only. Riders should remember to dress
warmly, plan extra time and check trimet.org/alerts before heading out. Riders can get more tips for riding in winter weather at trimet.org/winterweather
5:36 p.m.: A school bus carrying
Scouters Mountain Elementary students spun out amid snowy conditions on
Southeast 152nd Drive near Misty Drive in Happy Valley.Principal Kevin Spooner said all of the children are safe and many have been picked up from the bus. A small group is still inside, waiting for a ride home. Spooner said officials are calling families, arranging for them to be taken home.
"We are in contact with the bus driver," he said.
5:14 p.m.: The University of Portland will close at 7 p.m.
4:56 p.m.: The Portland Aerial Tram will run until midnight Wednesday, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
4:45 p.m.: Uber and Lyft prices from downtown Portland to Portland International Airport are $127.66 and $104.20, respectively.
4:40 p.m.: All TriMet buses are traveling on snow routes. Five bus lines are canceled. MAX Blue, Red, Orange and Yellow lines are delayed because of switch problems.
4:36 p.m.: The Christmas Ships parades on the Columbia and Willamette rivers are canceled for the night.
4:25 p.m.: ZooLights is canceled for the night because of icy conditions.
4:20 p.m.: Here is a glimpse of the afternoon commute from downtown Portland heading east across the Ross Island Bridge.
4:15 p.m.: Road conditions have prompted TriMet to cancel four bus routes and stop serving some other areas. C-TRAN said express route travelers should expect major delays to and from downtown Portland.
3:37 p.m.: Northwest Germantown Road has closed between Skyline Boulevard and Kaiser Road because of a crash.
3:03 p.m.: The Oregon State Police reports a second avalanche near HooDoo Ski Area. No one was injured, and workers are trying to get traffic flowing again.
2:42 p.m.: The Oregon State Police reports U.S. 20 is closed near HooDoo Ski Area because of an avalanche. Troopers don't know of any injuries, said Lt. Cari Boyd, a state police spokeswoman.
She said the avalanche was about 100 to 150 yards long. It happened around 2:17 p.m.
2:36 p.m.: The Steel Bridge pedestrian and bike gates will close around 3 p.m., the Portland Bureau of Transportation tweeted.
2:30 p.m.: All Portland Community College campuses and centers will close at 4 p.m., meaning all classes, events and exams after that time are canceled.
2:30 p.m.: TriMet said bus riders should expect delays because many buses will be using cable chains during the commute. Chained buses can't go over 25 mph. Buses with drop-down chains will use them when necessary, the agency said.
MAX trains could be delayed if conditions get worse and freezing rain falls, according to TriMet. Riders can check for delays online.
2:16 p.m.: The Hood River Sheriff's Office said it has received reports of at least five crashes on Interstate 84 between Hood River and The Dalles. The agency urged people to stay off the roads if possible.
1:45 p.m.: Portland Public Schools announced, "afternoon activities will continue as scheduled and child care will remain open. All athletic games and practices have been cancelled, as well as Portland Evening Scholars." Buildings will close by 6 p.m. Decisions for classes on Thursday will be made by 6 a.m.
1:27 p.m.: Snow flurries are appearing in downtown Portland.
12:50 p.m.: The National Weather Service has increased snow fall estimates in the metro area from 2 to 5 inches with higher accumulations in southern areas. The winter storm warning remains in effect until midnight. Elsewhere to the south, the winter storm warning has been extended to between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., depending on the area. Click here for more specific information.
12:16 p.m.: The first reports of
snow are coming in from the southern parts of the Portland area,
including Happy Valley and Wilsonville. Salem has been getting snow, as
well.Update 10:22 a.m. The National Weather Service has pushed back arrival times for snowfall from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the Portland area, Hood River and Kelso, according to its Twitter feed.
***
The second snow fall of December is anticipated to roll into the Portland area late afternoon Wednesday, but unlike the first, ice and sleet aren't forecast to make life miserable.
The National Weather Service predicts between 1 and 4 inches of snow could fall beginning early Wednesday afternoon. Cold air coming from east of the Cascades is set to collide with a system of moisture traveling north from southern Oregon, Matthew Cullen, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Tuesday.
Snow will take longer to melt, too, said weather service meteorologist Miles Higa. Forecasters predict daytime highs will stay near freezing through Saturday.
Getting to school or work should be business as usual, but conditions on the way home could be dicey.
Portland Public Schools will be open with normal release times. If conditions worsen, district officials said they will notify parents about after-school and evening activities. The Reynolds School District plans to end at normal times, but officials have cancelled after-school activities.
A half-dozen private schools in the Portland area will dismiss early. The Corbett School District, in the Columbia River Gorge, has canceled classes for Wednesday.
School closures and delays for Portland, Eugene, Bend and Medford, including closures in Vancouver & Southwest Washington.
Meanwhile, the weather service has issued winter storm warnings for the north Oregon Cascades and foothills, Cascades in Lane County, the Upper Hood River Valley and the central and western Columbia River Gorge. It has also issued winter weather advisories affecting Eugene, Salem and Vancouver, among other areas.
Higa said the western Columbia River Gorge -- from Portland to Cascade Locks -- could see 3 to 6 inches of snow. The Hood River area could see 4 to 7.
Areas in the southern Willamette Valley could see ice, however. Forecasters say up to 4 inches of snow, mixed with sleet and freezing rain, are possible near the cities of Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Albany and Lebanon. Up to a quarter-inch of ice could accumulate in those areas. The average will be around one-tenth of an inch, Higa said.
In the Salem area, people could see snow a little after sunrise Wednesday with 2 to 4 inches possible, and more in areas east of the city.
The Oregon Department of Transportation said snow and freezing temperatures could result in hazardous conditions for highway travelers in the Portland area and gorge.
"Remember, in severe winter conditions, the safest move is to stay off the road," the agency said in a news release.
Visit OregonLive.com/weather for an hourly weather breakdown and the five-day forecast.
This story will be updated as developments warrant. And this is a good opportunity to haul back out some tips on managing through the cold:
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