Business as usual in downtown Vancouver as Clark County waits for snow, Thursday, November 13, 2014.
For the most part, “Snovember” was a no-show.
Predictions of widespread snow in the metro area fizzled Thursday, but not before area schools announced delays or closures in anticipation of the threat.
Clark County saw periods of snowfall and some accumulation during the day, particularly in the eastern portions of the county. Sleet and other wintry precipitation were also in the mix at times. But accumulation in Vancouver didn’t come close to the 4 to 6 inches forecasters had earlier predicted.
Ice and slick roads remained a threat into the evening. On state Highway 14, the Washington State Department of Transportation required chains or traction tires east of Washougal as snow covered the roadway. Multiple crashes were reported in the area.
Still, local districts didn’t wait for flakes to start flying before they decided to delay or cancel school for the day.
Vancouver Public Schools was the first district, on Wednesday afternoon, to announce a two-hour delay for Thursday. Superintendent Steve Webb makes the final decision, but it’s based on reports from news sources, a meteorologist who partners with the district and the district’s transportation director. Additionally, employees from the transportation department drive the roads to monitor conditions and the area superintendents talk with each other, said Pat Mattison Nuzzo, district spokeswoman.
“Yesterday, the meteorologist we work with was so confident about an incoming weather system that we went ahead and made a decision yesterday,” Mattison Nuzzo said. “When all those things are added up together, that’s how the decision is made. A top priority is for the safety of students and staff.”
Typically, the district makes the decision by 5 a.m. the day of the expected weather system, she said.
One of the few districts that didn’t make a decision on Wednesday was Evergreen Public Schools, which announced at 5:11 a.m. Thursday that schools would start two hours late. It’s a decision that affects 27,000 students, their parents and 3,200 staff members, said Gail Spolar, district spokeswoman. Ultimately, the decision is whether students and staff can get to school safely, she said.
“We had lots of conflicting information coming in,” said Spolar. “Lots of snow, no snow. Freezing rain, no freezing rain.”
Starting around 3 a.m. Thursday, employees from the district’s transportation department drove all areas of the district to check on road conditions.
“There was nothing on the road yet, but reports said snow was coming,” Spolar said. “It’s interesting to see the variables around Clark County, including elevation gains. Within a couple of miles, we see varied conditions. That’s why sometimes it’s hard for people to understand what’s happening in other parts of the district.”
No Clark County schools opened on time Thursday. Camas and Washougal were the only districts that closed.
By midmorning Thursday, however, a winter storm warning had been downgraded to a winter weather advisory. Numerous reports of ice accumulation came in from the Portland-Vancouver area, said Tyree Wilde, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland.
A deep layer of warm air that moved over the region dashed hopes of a major snow event, Wilde said. And while low-elevation snow can be hard to come by in the Northwest, it’s even more rare in November. The earliest that Portland International Airport has ever recorded measurable snow, for example, is Nov. 11 in 1955, according to the National Weather Service. (Snowfall records for Vancouver are incomplete.)
The challenge in predicting snow or any wintry weather is nailing down how much cold air will linger long enough to mix with any moisture, Wilde said.
“It’s very difficult to determine that,” Wilde said. “It’s always a challenge.”
Precipitation was expected to transition to all rain by today, according to the weather service. Then things clear up, and the temperature drops: Overnight low temperatures could land in the mid-20s this weekend, according to the weather service. High temperatures could struggle to crack 40 degrees during the day.
Several hundred people are without power due to dozens of outages across the county, with a majority of the customers affected in the Amboy and Yacolt area. For more detailed information on outages, visit the Clark Public Utilities outage map.
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