Oregon winter weather: Storm warning for mountains, high winds and rain for valley, coast
A slew of weather warnings have been issued across western Oregon for mountain snow, strong winds and heavy rain Wednesday afternoon into Friday morning.
Willamette Valley snow is not forecast until potentially Friday night into Saturday morning.
Winter storm warning issued for Cascade mountain roads
A winter storm warning has been issued for a wide swath of the Cascade mountain roads due to heavy snow and high winds, the National Weather Service in Portland said. The warning starts 4 p.m. Wednesday and ends 6 a.m. Friday.
Four to 11 inches of snow is projected above 1,500 feet, which would include areas such as the Detroit and Oakridge areas in the foothills.
Above 2,500 feet, between 12 to 24 inches of snow is forecast. That includes mountain roads up to Santiam Pass (Highway 20), Willamette Pass (Highway 58) and the Mount Hood area (Highway 26), along with roads in the southern Cascades.
Winds could reach 50 mph, leading to whiteout conditions.
“Travel could be very difficult. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches,” the NWS warning said.
Winter storm advisory for roads in Coast Range
A winter storm advisory has been issued for the Coast Range.
Anywhere from 2-7 inches of snow is forecast above 1,500, which could impact some of the higher roads between the Willamette Valley and the coast. Upward of 7-14 inches is forecast above 2,500 feet, with winds gusting 55 mph.
Strong winds across Oregon
High winds could bring down power lines Wednesday into Thursday, as gusts are forecast to reach 50-55 mph on the coast and 35-40 mph inland and in the Willamette Valley.
“Isolated power outages and tree damage possible,” the National Weather Service said.
Rain to cause rivers and creeks to rise, but flooding appears unlikely
Around 1-2 inches of rain is forecast for the Willamette Valley, with higher amounts in the foothills below snow level. No major flooding is forecast, although many rivers and creeks will rise toward “action” stage.
Willamette Valley snow possible this weekend
The snow level is forecast to drop toward the Willamette Valley floor by Friday night and into the weekend. Lowland snow appears possible Friday night into Saturday morning.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon winter storm: Snow in mountains, Willamette Valley wind
