Related: A Freeze Settles In Over NW Oregon, But More Snow Is Coming
Some of the Portland metro area woke up to nearly 6 inches of snow Saturday morning, while others saw just a light dusting.
“We had snow move in overnight, leaving a pretty wide range of snowfall,” said Tyree Wilde with the National Weather Service in Portland.
East of Portland, in the Gresham area, anywhere from 4 to 6 inches of snow accumulated, Wilde said.
“At our office here in northeast Portland, by the airport, we got about 4 1/2 inches,” he said.
A dog named Lucy chases a ball in the Willamette Park dog park in southeast Portland, Ore., Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Snow hit the metro area in varying levels over the weekend and is likely to create slippery conditions into the start of the week.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Looking west, “that snowfall tapers off in Beaverton,” Wilde said. While south of Portland in Lake Oswego, he said, “they only got a little bit of a trace over there.”
Vancouver saw 4 to 5 inches of accumulation.
Salem and Eugene had a rain and snow mix overnight. “My anticipation would be it looks like Lake Oswego,” Wilde said.
As far as the rest of the forecast looks, more snow could enter the region Saturday.
“The heavier stuff came through last night,” Wilde said, “but we’ll still have little bands of showers today and maybe get up to 2 inches more in the remainder of the day.”
He said the majority of the accumulating snow in the Portland metro area will probably be in high elevation areas, like the West Hills.
Wilde said Sunday the region can also expect to see some spotty showers.
The real issue could be freezing temperatures overnight, with temperatures dropping down Saturday night into Sunday.
“Saturday night, we’re going to be quite cold. Whatever melting we get, we’re going down into the low 20s [overnight],” he said.
Peter Murphy with the Oregon Department of Transportation suggested people put off driving for the day if they can in the Portland area, as there were already a number of traffic jams throughout the region Saturday morning.
“There’s one jam on the I-5 Southbound to Eastbound I-84,” he said. “There’s also a tanker truck that’s stopped Northbound I-205 to Westbound Airport Way.”
He said from 181st Avenue to Westbound I-84 there have also been some jams as of about 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.
A report from ODOT said travel is also currently difficult at Siskiyou Summit and at the summits north of Grants Pass.
The biggest advice Murphy has for those who do want to travel: patience.
“Fortunately, it’s a Saturday. It’s not a commuter day,” Murphy said. “But, it’s still probably going to take a while to clear the roads up.”
He suggests people check the driving environment before they head out with websites like ODOT's TripCheck, and to just be generally prepared for being out in the elements.
“'Driving the environment’ is the phrase I like to use,” Murphy said. “And it’s not always the outside environment that matters. Make sure your tires are good, your car is good. Make sure you have a full tank of gas as well as blankets. Be prepared for those types of conditions.”
