Following the extreme cold weather that greeted most of Oregon Tuesday morning, a storm system looming off the Oregon Coast could bring a mixture of snow and freezing rain to Portland later this week.
Noah Alviz is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said he’s been tracking that system, and it may impact most of the Willamette Valley as soon as Thursday.
“Thursday night into Friday, we’re expecting a transition to mainly freezing rain across the area, and so people should prepare for potentially hazardous travel conditions,” Alviz said. “Make sure to pack an emergency kit in your vehicle if you have to be out on the road.”
This National Weather Service map shows much of Oregon under cold weather advisories (light blue) and extreme cold alerts (blue) Tuesday morning.
National Weather Service
Alviz recommends checking TripCheck.com for up-to-date travel conditions, as roads will likely be icy ahead of the Friday morning commute. He also suggests having extra food and blankets ready at home and checking on neighbors and loved ones who may be living on their own.
“Freezing rain is going to create a layer of ice on the ground and that is going to be very impactful,” Alviz said, “and not just on the surface, but it could accumulate on power lines as well, and so we could see some power outages.”
Related: Check the latest emergency closures and delays
Extreme cold is gripping the area ahead of the looming storm. The weather service issued a cold weather advisory through noon Tuesday for much of the Oregon Coast and the Willamette Valley, including the greater Portland/Vancouver metro area.
A second round of cold weather alerts will take effect throughout much of the region Tuesday night. According to the NWS, temperatures from the coast to the Cascades could feel as low as 10 degrees in many areas.
Some areas of Eastern Oregon and Central Oregon could see wind chill temperatures of 15 degrees below zero through early Thursday morning.
Dangerously cold wind chills are also possible in the western and central Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley.
On the southern Oregon Coast, the weather service issued a freeze warning from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Officials recommend people dress warmly and cover any exposed skin to prevent frostbite and hypothermia.
⚠️❄️ With snow and freezing rain in the forecast later this week, now is the time to start preparing!
— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) February 11, 2025
➡️ Have emergency supplies for your home & car
➡️ Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
➡️ Replenish fuel for your car and heating sources#ORwx #WAwx pic.twitter.com/OIWFhxPMs4
In Multnomah County, officials have opened five emergency warming shelters for people living outside or without reliable heat. All five shelters will open at 8 p.m. Tuesday and remain open until at least noon Wednesday. Nearly 300 people used three county-run shelters Monday evening. The cold weather prompted the county to open two additional shelters Tuesday.
“We want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to get people indoors and avoid the dangerous temperatures, especially those that can cause hypothermia,” Multnomah County Health Officer Richard Bruno said at a Tuesday press conference.
Bruno said county emergency services received fewer than five calls for cold-related illnesses Monday night, which is average for this time of year.
“We attribute that to having these actual warming centers available for people to get indoors,” he said. “We didn’t have an extra burden on the EMS system last night.”
Bruno recommended the public call 211 to request transportation to a warming center. He also urged people to call the Portland Police Bureau’s non-emergency line if they see anyone outside who appears inappropriately dressed for the weather and in need of help.
A man who identified himself as “Chester,” was grateful to find shelter from the cold, and settled down quickly with a warm blanket at the Grand Oak Shelter, operated by Multnomah County, Feb. 11, 2025.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Not everyone living outside opts to go into a winter shelter. Bruno said the county’s mobile response teams have also been distributing warm clothing and medical help to people living outside over the past month.
Most of the shelters are operated by nonprofit organizations or county employees. Yet, county spokesperson Denis Theriault said that volunteers from the county and city have helped run the shelters.
This was a problem during the region’s last winter storm in January 2024, when the city and county were both blamed for closing shelters before the freezing temperatures had subsided. Both jurisdictions said they didn’t have enough volunteers to keep the spaces running.
Theriault said the county has changed its scheduling plan for volunteers to ensure people are able to run warming shelters even after cold temperatures are anticipated to pass.
“We built a staffing plan that recognizes that the weather is fickle and we need to be there when it changes in the worst,” he said.
Members of the public can learn more about volunteering at an emergency shelter online.
