Oregon’s winter weather mellows, but is sticking around this week

The National Weather Service says slush and snow is possible nearly every day this week in the Willamette Valley, with Wednesday being the only dry day in the near-term forecast.

But any winter weather this week will be far less severe than last week when a near-record 10.8 inches of snow dropped on the Portland area and stuck around for days.

Noah Alviz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a low-pressure system will bring rain, slush and potentially snow to the Willamette Valley on Monday night.

“We’re expecting minimal accumulations of snow in the valley of less than an inch,” Alviz said. “But we have higher accumulations expected for places that are above 500 feet, where they can get at least an inch to an inch-and-a-half, and that includes the entire I-5 corridor.”

Temperatures in the Willamette Valley are anticipated to hover around freezing in the early morning hours Tuesday. A chance of rain, slush and light snow will remain throughout the rest of the week.

“The best chance for calmer, drier conditions will be on Wednesday,” Alviz said.

While Wednesday will be drier, the morning lows in the region are anticipated to be the coldest of the entire week; between 23 and 27 degrees.

“We are going to have another front coming in on Thursday,” Alviz said. “So, the winter weather is not going away anytime soon.”

Last week’s storm that pummeled the Portland metro area and created commuting chaos happened as the National Weather Service was largely forecasting much milder conditions. This time around, Alviz emphasized that forecasts can change quickly.

“I advise everyone to keep checking for forecast updates and then also winterize your vehicle, have an emergency supply kit in your vehicle in case you have to drive through, or get stuck in, winter conditions,’ he said.

Eastern Oregon is forecast to have a winter storm with 6-8 inches of snow expected above 3000 feet and wind gusts up to 35mph. Southern Oregon could also see heavy snow and gusty winds, especially above 1000 feet.

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