County officials are bracing as gusty winds blow through the region today, ahead of a possible transition snow and ice storms Thursday night and Friday.
The wind — which in Vancouver reached sustained speeds in the high 20 mph-range, and gusts close to 40 mph — knocked out power temporarily for thousands of customers around the county.
By 8 p.m. Wednesday, about 6,500 customers had their power restored following earlier outages, but about 720 still didn’t have electricity, according to Clark Public Utilities.
“We are seeing outages across the county, particularly in north county, related to trees and limbs on lines,” utility spokeswoman Erica Erland said earlier that afternoon. Other small outages were reported in the eastern parts of the county and in Vancouver.
More utility workers were standing by. Along with continued high winds, forecasters at the National Weather Service in Portland think snow followed by freezing rain may be on the way later today.
“That’s not a great combination for an electric system,” Erland said.
More high wind is expected today, with sustained speeds around 30 mph and gusts as high as 48 mph. Thursday will be breezy with winds around 20 to 22 mph, and gusts up to 32 mph.
The National Weather Service said snowfall will start this evening, possibly late this afternoon, then turn into rain or freezing rain Thursday night.
The Vancouver-Portland metro area might see up to 2 inches of snowfall before the rain starts.
Forecasts predict around two-tenths to four-tenths of an inch of ice, which might lead to more tree damage and slippery driving conditions.
Thursday night’s rain should stick around on Friday. The weather service’s forecasters expect Friday and Friday night will be rainy, with some possible freezing rain in the mix and temperatures just above freezing during the day and that night.
Forecasters said Vancouver may see some light snow, with some mixed-in freezing rain or sleet, before 11 a.m. Friday, then rain or freezing rain. The day’s high will be around 33 degrees. That night may see some freezing rain, then all rain after 11 p.m. The night’s low temperature will be around 33 degrees.
Vancouver Public Works spokeswoman Loretta Callahan said work crews were out overnight Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning applying deicer over heavily trafficked areas that support public safety and emergency services, as well as overpasses, hills and common cold-weather trouble spots.
“The key with deicer is having some good dry conditions to put it down and have it stick,” she said. “On the other hand, keep in mind this potential combo we have of this snow and freezing rain, if that’s what we get, can be particularly difficult and slick.”
It’s especially tricky if the snow’s wet or not that deep, she said; plows can’t do much for inch-or-two accumulations.
Jeff Mize, spokesman for Clark County Public Works, said county crews have been out applying deicing solution to the roads.
“Just prepping the roads in advance and waiting to see what happens like everyone else,” he said.
Still, he said, whatever happens sounds like it might not last long.
Rain is forecast through the weekend, with high temperatures in the mid 40s.
