A light dusting of snow fell over Clark County and the Portland-Vancouver metro area Monday, but it was enough to delay the start of classes or put buses on snow routes at some schools in the northern and eastern parts of the county. The high temperature was 39 degrees.
Forecasters said the odds of snow Tuesday are low, but the National Weather Service in Portland issued a weather advisory for snow levels that might drop low enough to cause travel problems Tuesday.
Snow levels were forecasted to fall as low as the county’s lowest spots Tuesday, though it’d likely be a light dusting with the highest accumulations (1 or 2 inches) at higher elevations.
Officials reminded drivers to be careful on the roads for fear of ice.
Any precipitation in Vancouver is expected to subside by around 10 a.m. Tuesday, with the skies gradually clearing up through the day for a high temperature of 38 degrees. Freezing fog is forecast for tonight.
The weather service said Wednesday’s forecast might spell strong winds in the Columbia River and Portland-Vancouver metro area. The forecast calls for areas of freezing fog, subsiding later in the morning, followed by increasingly sunnier skies, a high around 35 degrees and breezy winds with gusts up to 26 mph.
It’s also possible, forecasters said, for much stronger east winds to hit the Gorge and eastern metro areas with gusts of up to 40 mph.
Whether things get that blustery, the cold weather sets the stage for a mix of wintry weather predicted for Wednesday night and into Thursday. Forecasters say the precipitation will start as snow for most areas Wednesday night, with a few inches of accumulation possible, before transitioning to ice. More of the same — morning snow changing to freezing rain — is forecast for Thursday. About an inch of snow is possible.
Forecasters said the Columbia River Gorge and eastern metro areas will likely see the highest impact Thursday, but they were less confident about the duration of the expected freezing rain.
The weather service said temperatures should return to the 40-degree range, with lows in the high 30s, by Thursday night.
Forecasters added they expect several more feet of snow in the Cascades should freezing levels stay below 3,000 feet beyond the end of the week, as predicted.
