The forecasts for snow and wintry precipitation have been changing every few hours. And with those changes, countless Oregonians are refreshing their weather apps and considering contingencies based on the most up-to-date information.
The latest forecasts call for snow showers starting midday Friday in Portland, with low temperatures well below freezing. The Columbia River Gorge is likely to see strong winds and freezing temperatures, as well as a wintry mix.
FILE: Sunnyside School in southeast Portland is shown on Feb. 23, 2023, after snow forced the school to close for a couple of days.
Elizabeth Miller / OPB
The anticipated snow depths have been revised downwards — but meteorologists are still expecting mountain passes to continue getting dumped with snow.
While what exactly the next few days will bring isn’t clear, the advice from local government officials is: Be careful.
Spokesperson for the Portland Bureau of Transportation Dylan Rivera said the smartest course is to stay put, if you can.
“So at this point, we feel it’s important for everyone in Portland and the Portland area to consider avoiding travel Friday and Saturday,” Rivera said. “Your best bet to keep yourself comfortable and safe in snow and potentially icy weather in the Portland area is to avoid travel.”
- Closures and delays in the Portland, Vancouver and Salem areas
- Traffic impacts throughout Oregon
- Power outages in Oregon
Rivera said PBOT has been in “enhanced operations” since Monday, including on Tuesday night, when parts of the Portland area got a dusting of snow. In addition, 55 snow plows are ready to respond, with additional vehicles spreading sand and deicer to prepare roads.
Rivera said his colleagues and others in the region can be grateful that they’ve had several days to plan for the anticipated storm. That was not the case 11 months ago, when an unexpected February storm paralyzed the region. A number of school buses got stuck, diverted or ran late amid stalled traffic and challenging road conditions, leading to a number of students sitting on buses sometimes for hours during the storm.
While transportation crews have been out in force all this week, local schools are just now making decisions on school operations for Friday.
Portland-area schools deciding to open, but close early Friday
Dozens of schools in the Portland region are responding to snowy forecasts by making plans to send students home early Friday.
Two of the state’s largest districts — the Beaverton School District and Portland Public Schools — announced they’re closing school three hours early Friday. North Clackamas schools are also closing early, the district announced Thursday. The exact time that students will be sent home varies, but it’s as early as 11:30 a.m. at some schools. The Canby school district is closing two hours early Friday.
Washington schools are making similar plans. Evergreen, Vancouver, Battle Ground and Ridgefield school districts have all announced plans to close early Friday.
Portland schools was among the last to make a decision on its schedule for Friday. The state’s largest district has less flexibility around adding days to compensate for closures, after turning several non-school days this winter and spring into school days to make up for days lost to the monthlong teachers strike in November. The makeup plan includes adding three days to the end of the school year in June.
“We always weigh the decision to cancel school — especially after November’s closures — with the paramount need to keep our community safe,” PPS said in a statement emailed by communications specialist Sydney Kelly.
On its web page describing the school closure process, PPS says “every attempt is made to decide about school closures and schedule changes the evening before.” Otherwise, the district doesn’t describe how it makes the closure decision, other than it relies on weather information from multiple sources in order to “make the most appropriate decision for our students, staff and patrons based on the available information.”
In its message to parents, PPS said officials “will meet again tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. to revisit this decision in case the forecast indicates that more severe weather will appear in Portland.”
“If we need to cancel the entire school day, we will update you then,” the message said.
Parents typically receive notice of school closures or delays by text message and recorded phone message.
Beaverton school officials said on their website that families can learn of school cancellation or delays “on the district website, ParentSquare and social media by 5:30 a.m.”
By late Thursday afternoon, Beaverton had announced, “based on the latest weather forecasts” that school would start on time Friday, but that students would be dismissed three hours early. The district said its criteria for deciding whether to close school is based on safety concerns, including school bus transportation, the ability of students and parents to drive or walk to school safely, and the ability of employees to show up for work.