Forecast calls for cold weather, more snow
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As Western Oregon overcomes the worst of the season's first winter storm, which iced roads and closed highways over the weekend, the region is bracing for another round of snow.
The National Weather Service said there is a 70 percent chance of snow Wednesday — at elevations above 1,000 feet in the morning and then dropping to the Willamette Valley floor by the afternoon.
Forecast models show another system likely to hit Sunday — either with all snow, freezing rain or a combination. But Charles Dalton of the National Weather Service said it's too soon to predict the storm with any precision.
"There is too much variability to say what will happen," Dalton said. "The best case is to go middle-of-the-road and say we could see freezing rain in the southern half of the Willamette Valley and switching to rain."
What is more certain, Dalton said, is that it's going to remain cold. Dalton says temperatures will remain below freezing throughout the area — even on the coast.
Portland's Monday morning low of 22 degrees at Portland International Airport was a record for the date, breaking the old one — set in 1972 — by a degree. If the forecast holds true for the rest of the week, it will be the coldest December week since 1990.
No more records were expected in the coming days. The records for Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, are 6 and 7 degrees set in 1964.
Despite the icy roads, drivers in Portland enjoyed a relatively trouble-free commute Monday — except for when a tanker full of de-icing chemicals turned over on Interstate 205. The freeway was reopened about an hour after the accident.
In Eugene, a rash of accidents closed the highway and local roads. | STORY
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.)
