Forecast icy rain fell began falling in earnest on the already snowbound and frozen roads of Clark County this afternoon, leading to slick conditions and multiple vehicle crashes as the storm began to settle over the area.
Freezing rain dumped on parts of Vancouver and Southwest Washington along the Columbia River in the afternoon and early evening. Otherwise most of Southwest Washington and the Vancouver metro area were hit with heavy regular rain. Roads will be treacherous and widespread power outages and tree damage are possible.
Roughly three-tenths of an inch of rain had fallen at Pearson Field from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m.
The weather service had reports of a quarter-inch of ice accumulations in Camas at around 3:30 p.m. and a quarter-inch at Pearson Field as of 5:30 p.m.
The storm warning is set to expire at 10 p.m., when temperatures are finally forecast to rise above freezing for the first time in days. As is frequently the case with ice storms, the Columbia River Gorge will get the most ice and it will last there the longest. Areas near the gorge, such as Washougal, will also be hit hard.
Meteorologists say the Vancouver metro area could get a quarter to half-inch of ice accumulations through tonight. Areas east of Interstate 205 could get between three-quarters and an inch of accumulated ice. The central Columbia River Gorge could get two inches of ice or more.
“The east part of Vancouver toward Camas and Washougal will probably be the hardest hit. They won’t be warming above freezing tonight,”said Miles Higa, a meteorologist at National Weather Service, Portland.
The good news: A Tuesday-morning dose of ice the weather service predicted, largely never materialized.
The Oregon Department of Transportation closed Interstate 84 between Troutdale and Hood River. ODOT warned of black ice and said chains were required for all vehicles.
Both directions of state Highway 14, from Washougal to Hood River, was closed and re-opened to vehicles with a cross weight over 10,000 pounds a couple of times. The road is currently closed to large vehicles, and the Washington State Department of Transportation issued a weather advisory for the stretch. Chains are required for all vehicles using that stretch of highway.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn said around 4:30 p.m. that the county’s state highways were relatively calm, considering the weather. A minor injury, multi-vehicle fender-bender on the Interstate 205 bridge gnarled traffic for a time, but didn’t appear to be weather related. Troopers also responded to a road rage incident that ended with an assault on Fargher Lake Highway.
“For the most part, for the day, we really haven’t had any issues,” he said.
County Public Works Department crews saw frozen roadways toward the Washougal area and points east, spokesman Jeff Mize said around 5 p.m., adding conditions have been fair for the most part.
Public works’ customer service department hadn’t fielded many calls for service that day either, he said.
“They have more calls about people inquiring about sandbags and sand then they have about freezing rain, which is another strong indicator that things are gong pretty well,” he said.
In Clark County, schools were closed, with Vancouver Public Schools announcing a two-hour delay for Wednesday’s tentative return to school after a week off. Many evening activities and public meetings are canceled. Garbage and recycling collection was postponed until next Tuesday.
Some Columbian subscribers may not have received their papers due to icy roads; the website is free to all today, as is our e-edition, which is a digital replica of the newspaper.
C-Tran announced a host of route changes, including commuter routes, and said C-Van will provide only life-sustaining trips. Watch C-Tran’s website for changes.
Write this number down in case you need it later: 360-992-8000. That’s the number for Clark Public Utilities to call if your power goes out.
Those in need of shelter should call the Housing Hotline at 360-695-9677 as soon as possible. The hotline will close at 5 p.m., said Andy Silver, executive director of the Council for the Homeless.
The council and other agencies that make up the local homeless shelter system are bracing for the storm. Overnight severe weather shelters will open tonight: the day center at Friends of the Carpenter in west Vancouver and the Rise & Stars Community Center in central Vancouver. The shelters can host 16 and 30 people, respectively. This is in addition to extra spaces being added to regular permanent shelters and winter shelters at local churches.
As they have previous nights, the nonprofit Share will use a van to find people staying outside and shuttle them to the shelters, Silver said. Police can also use motel vouchers if they see somebody outside who’s in danger, he said.
Flying? Check the Portland International Airport flight delay board here.
As if this isn’t all stressful enough, the heavy rain that follows the ice has prompted a flood watch for the metro area, with a lot of localized problems developing as inches of rain fall into the accumulated ice and snow of the last week. A flood watch takes effect the moment the ice storm warning expires but the full extent of that scenario should begin to materialize on Wednesday.
