Portland Gets a Snow Day - Or Two or Three
Published 01/16/2012
(Portland, Oregon) – It creates glee for some, dread for others, and a big “ho hum” for still more. Whatever the case, Portland got a big snow day on a holiday Monday, creating a little more time off for others who normally had to work - because some icy conditions kept them home.
The morning commute caused some problems, and late in the afternoon a few icy spots returned. The primary problem spots were around Washington County in the Portland area, and especially in the Oregon coast range. Most of the metro area in Clackamas or Multnomah counties encountered little, as did much of the I-5 corridor in towns like Salem, Eugene or Corvallis.
The snow began falling on Sunday, creating a host of beautiful sights like these in the upper elevations. These photos were all taken on Sunday in the Hoyt Arboretum area, just above the Oregon Zoo and the Children's Museum.
In this area, an urban green space became an urban white space.
In the St. John's area of north Portland, resident Robert Thornton said that section of town only received a few snow flakes.
Kristen Busold had to halt progress on her job search this morning.
“I got up at 8 a.m. to get ready for a drug test, saw the road was icy and went back to bed,” Busold said.
In north Portland, Lisa Lepine was busy preparing today.
“Cleaned my house and put wood in – in case the snow actually materializes.,” she said.
But local musician Andrew Gorny had a slightly more cynical take on the media coverage of the snow – a reaction also typical of many who wondered what the big deal was all about.
“It was a classic Portland snow, which means it actually just felt like rain,” Gorny said.
At this hour on Monday, more snow is expected in higher elevations in the Portland area with accumulation only above 500 feet. Some side streets are slushy this evening and this may worsen overnight and into the morning.
The coast range is expected to stay in a chaotic state until Wednesday morning.
See the Oregon weather page for general Oregon updates.
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