A man walks on the road in the snow on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Tigard, Ore. The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley effective from 1 p.m. Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday.
Jenny Kane / AP
People living in the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley should stay prepared for potential prolonged power outages, as an ice storm is expected to impact both areas this weekend, the National Weather Service said.
The federal agency issued an ice storm warning for the upper Hood River Valley as well as central and western Columbia River Gorge effective from 1 p.m. Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday. Impacted communities include Parkdale, Odell, Corbett, Rooster Rock, Multnomah Falls, Cascade Locks and Hood River in Oregon, and North Bonneville, Stevenson, Carson and Underwood in Washington state.
The agency warned residents in those communities that significant amounts of ice — due to more freezing rain forecast for Saturday night and Sunday in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon — may stress some house roofs to the point of failure, and potentially bring down more trees and power lines.
“Eastern Skamania County will see a longer period of snow before precipitation transitions to freezing rain. Ice accumulations will be substantial overnight into Sunday for these areas,” the National Weather Service said in a written statement early Saturday.
More freezing rain is likely for the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley Saturday afternoon into Sunday, mainly to the east of Troutdale and Corbett. Given how much ice has already accumulated on just about everything in the Gorge with very little to no melting expected... pic.twitter.com/sS9a1QO2Zv
— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) January 20, 2024
Related: What this winter weather can tell us about Oregon’s climate and vice versa
Thousands have been without power since last weekend in parts of Oregon’s Willamette Valley because of storm damage. Despite work by repair crews, nearly 28,000 customers were without electricity in the state early Saturday, according to the website poweroutage.us.
The National Weather Service added that temperatures remain near freezing in the Willamette Valley and below freezing in the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley during the weekend. It warns that surfaces in the Portland metro area, for instance, will remain very slick until rain and milder temperatures kick in.
The agency said with no fresh arctic air masses expected for the Pacific Northwest, Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon will begin gradually warming and may record slightly above normal temperatures over the coming week.