Portland has first heavy snowfall in April since the 1940s

Heavy snow was accumulating in Portland, Oregon on Monday, the heaviest snowfall for the month of April since records began 80 years ago.

The city had seen several inches by early morning after a mix of snow and rain fell overnight and temperatures dropped to the mid-30s (degrees Fahrenheit).

It left Portland locals with a dicey commute on Monday, while more than 51,000 people across the state are currently without power.

Portland Public Schools district, the largest in the state, announced that it would be closing for a snow day.

The storm warning remained in place throughout Monday. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland reported that total snow accumulations of 12 to 18 inches were possible, along with winds gusting as high as 35mph.

It is the city’s first measurable snow for April since record keeping began in the early 1940s, according to meteorologists.

“In 82 years of record keeping, #PDX (Portland) had never recorded more than a trace of snow in April. That ended today. Looking out the window, it appears there will be more than 0.1 inch when all is said and done,” the NWS tweeted.

Drivers were urged to be cautious due to difficult travel conditions, and the chance that some roads may be blocked by downed trees and power lines due to the weight of the snow.

The NWS advised people that must travel to slow down and allow plenty of extra time to reach destinations.

Just last week the city was experiencing sunny skies and near 70-degree temperatures.

Portland has seen some wild swings in temperatures in the past year. It was one of a number of cities in the Pacific Northwest and Canada which was hit with deadly extreme heat last summer, which left hundreds of people dead and others hospitalized.

An international team of climate scientists subsequently found that the recent record heat in cities including Portland, Vancouver and Seattle would have been “virtually impossible” without the human-caused climate crisis.

“We are entering uncharted territory,” said Professor Sonia Seneviratne, a climate scientist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and a member of the World Weather Attribution initiative, a group of researchers tracking the fingerprint of the climate crisis on extreme weather events.