UPDATE (8:10 a.m. PT) — It may have arrived a bit late, but snow blanketed the Portland region. Residents awoke Tuesday to find a white covering across the area — and slick roads to match.
A pedestrian looks out over a snow-covered Portland, Ore., from the Broadway Bridge Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
The lower elevations of Portland saw as much as 1 1/2 inches of snow overnight Monday, according to the National Weather Service office in Portland. Elsewhere in Multnomah County, higher elevations, such as the Columbia River Gorge town of Corbett, got hit with 5 inches.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation began salting and de-icing roads overnight and will continue throughout Tuesday. “Early this morning there weren’t any closed roads in Portland,” said PBOT’s John Brady. “What we’re starting to see now, around 7 a.m., in the early morning, are some very slick spots.”
Brady said Portland’s east side has been having trouble, with some cars spinning out and crashing.
“The snow melted where people drove and [it] froze over so there are some very slick spots,” he said. “So we’re going to be focused on those through the morning and the rest of the day as the day warms up.”
Map: Portland Bureau Of Transportation Plow Activity
Use this interactive map to see where Portland's plows and snow crews are working.
PBOT’s best advice, Brady said, is to delay travel in the morning, if possible.
“If you can delay your travel through the morning, that’s the best advice. Otherwise, take transit and if you have to drive, you just have to be very, very aware of the possibility of those icy spots,” he said.
The snow caused numerous school districts throughout the region to cancel classes Tuesday. In Portland, the Parkrose School District, Portland Public Schools and the Reynolds School District are all closed. On the Western edge of the Portland metro region, the Beaverton and Hillsboro school districts are both on two-hour delays. You can find more school closings and delays here.
In the Salem region, which saw as much as 2 inches of snow, the Salem-Keizer School District is also closed Tuesday.
The snow hit the Columbia River Gorge especially hard, with Hood River recording as much as 5 inches in some parts.
This story will be updated.