Public health officials are urging people in the Willamette Valley to start preparing now for the winter storm moving into the area.
People without a home or without reliable home heat should get themselves to a warming shelter or another warm place Wednesday night.
“If I had one message for people, it would be get inside,” said Dr. Jennifer Vines, health officer for Multnomah County.
Vines said the forecast for Thursday is for temperatures as low as the single digits, when the windchill is factored in. That’s about 20 degrees colder than the lows of a typical winter storm in the Willamette Valley.
“This for me has echoes of the heat dome in 2021, where we are looking at a weather event that is very different than anything most people have experienced,” Vines said.
The storm is expected to hit at a time when emergency services and hospitals are under strain, as they face a shortage of nurses and a surge in patients with respiratory viruses.
People experiencing homelessness face the most jeopardy from the low temperatures, but Vines says there’s a risk to anybody who finds themselves outside inadequately prepared.
If you do need to travel, make sure you have plenty of warm layers and a plan for what to do if public transit stops working or if your car breaks down. Frostbite can happen to exposed skin in less than an hour, depending on your age and health.
There are also risks to be aware of indoors. Avoid trying to heat your home with a camping or gas stove or bringing a generator inside, because that can create a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Warming shelter information
Four severe weather shelters will be opening on Dec. 21, 2022.
Courtesy of Multnomah County
Multnomah County
Multnomah County, the City of Portland and their service provider partners will open four severe weather shelters at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, that will remain open for as long as conditions require. No one will be turned away. The severe weather shelters are:
- Portsmouth Union: 4775 N. Lombard St., Portland, OR 97203,
- Arbor Lodge: 1952 N. Lombard St., Portland, OR 97217
- Sunrise Center: 18901 E. Burnside St., Portland, OR 97233
- Oregon Convention Center, 960 NE 1st Ave. Portland, OR 97232
Washington County
Unhoused people seeking shelter should present in person at the locations listed below:
- The Salvation Army Building, 1440 SE 21st Ave, Hillsboro
- Accessible via TriMet route numbers 57
- Shelter Operator: Project Homeless Connect
- Beaverton Community Center, 12350 SW 5th St
- Accessible via TriMet route numbers 52, 76, and 78
- Shelter Operator: Just Compassion
Shelters will remain open 24 hours throughout the severe weather event. Hot meals are provided for guests, no one will be turned away and pets are OK (be prepared to work with shelter staff as locations individual pet policies may vary).
This story may be updated.