Funviralpark If you thought the ice conditions in the Portland area might melt today, it’s probably time to adjust your expectations.
Calling Friday “Respect Nature Day,” Clinton Rocky, a meteorologist at the Portland National Weather Service, said, “Mother Nature will give us a day to sit down and enjoy an extra cup of coffee or cocoa.” I did,” he said.
Weather conditions are likely to remain roughly the same all day, according to Rocky, with a layer of warm air over the city, temperatures on the ground in the 20s, and freezing rain and ice. A covered road occurs.
read more: What is the difference between sleet, freezing rain, and snow?
Nighttime cold and ice forced people into warmer shelters, shut down MAX services and canceled many flights from PDX.
Warming shelters remain open throughout the Tri-County area for those who need them.In Multnomah County, call 211 or take the free TriMet to a warming shelter.
If you see someone suffering from a cold, call the non-emergency line at 503-823-3333 for a welfare check. Call 911 if someone’s life is in danger.
Rocky says areas west and south of town like Beaverton and Oregon City could start to thaw a little earlier than places closer to the canyons that are pushing cold air out.
Rocky said it will be at least another 12 hours before temperatures rise above freezing in most metropolitan areas.
If you live east or north of downtown, it may take longer.
Still, Rocky said, “most places west of 205 will be above freezing by the time we wake up tomorrow morning.”
Good news for anyone looking to travel somewhere on Christmas Eve.
“By eight or nine in the morning,” said Mr. Rockey.
By mid-afternoon, temperatures will be in the low 40s.
“And after that,” Rocky said.
He noted that long-range forecasts are bringing sea breezes to Portland that will bring milder temperatures and more rain.
It would be a dramatic change from the continental climate from Canada that Portland is currently experiencing. Rocky says that pattern creates a unique situation where the Cascades are actually warmer than the surrounding lowlands.
He pointed out that there was a point during this storm where if you had driven out of Bend it would have been 10 degrees there and 40 degrees when you crossed Santiam Pass. By the time we get to Portland, the temperature will be below freezing again.
read more: De-iced roads? PBOT has a map for that
— Lizzie Acker
503-221-8052; [email protected]; @lizzzyacker
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