Major ice storm likely for Willamette Valley on Tuesday; massive power outages possible
A major ice storm is headed to the Willamette Valley on Tuesday.
A major ice storm capable of bringing widespread power outages and crippling travel appears increasingly likely for the Willamette Valley on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service is forecasting anywhere from a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of ice for a widespread area from roughly Corvallis and Salem up to the Portland metro area.
The impact is expected to be worse than the weekend ice storm and could be on par with the one in 2021 that knocked out power for hundreds of thousands, in some cases for over a week, said Shawn Weagle, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Portland.
“If the forecast holds, it has the potential to be as bad as 2021 because that amount of ice can bring down a lot of trees very easily,” Weagle said.
“The cold air is just really stout right now,” he added. “It’s been here for a while and it’s going to take a lot to push it out. At the same time, we have a pretty wet incoming system. Our big hope is that some of it starts out as snow or slush, so that at least roads aren’t quite as bad to begin with.”
The ice storm warning lasts from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. on Wednesday.
The areas of greatest concern are in the north Willamette Valley, from roughly Salem or Corvallis north to Portland and into the Columbia River Gorge. Weagle said Washington, Yamhill and the Gorge were most likely to get hit hardest.
Somewhat less impact is expected in the southern Willamette Valley, including Eugene, where a far smaller .001 to .01 inches of ice is forecast.
The reason is that warm southerly air is forecast to reach the southern Willamette Valley first and gradually work its way up north, Weagle said.
The good news is that once the warm southerly air does arrive, it should bring widespread rain that melts much of the ice into Wednesday.
Weagle said it would take Portland longest to warm up, not only because it’s farthest north, but because it will continue to get cold air from the gorge.
In Salem, precipitation is expected to transition from ice to rain at around midnight on Tuesday.
“Travel is strongly discouraged (on Tuesday),” NWS said in its ice storm warning.
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. He can be reached at [email protected] or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Major ice storm likely for Willamette Valley on Tuesday; massive power outages possible