A fast-moving weather system brought snow earlier than expected to the region this morning, with a more potent system expected to arrive this afternoon with heavy snow. Accumulations of up to 7 inches are expected, possibly creating conditions for a nightmare afternoon commute.
“Remember the 10-hour evening commute last winter?” forecasters in Portland tweeted late Monday. “The timing of the snow moving in has us concerned it could happen again.”
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning about 8:30 a.m. today as snow arrived early in the metro area. The warning extends through 4 a.m. Wednesday.
The heaviest snow in the Portland-Vancouver area is predicted between noon and 8 p.m., according to forecasters, with accumulations of 3 to 7 inches.
“Plan on slippery road conditions, including during the evening commute,” the advisory said. “Expect reduced visibility at times.”
The Columbian’s business offices will be closing at 3 p.m. due to the storm.
A number of schools have announced late starts or buses running on snow routes with the morning snow, and as the snow continued, an increasing number of districts announced early releases and canceled evening events.
Read more about school closures and get latest the latest updates on schedule changes at The Columbian’s school closure page.
Vancouver Public Schools announced classes will run for the full day, except at schools that typically end later in the day — Vancouver Flex Academy, Lieser Campus, Vancouver iTech Preparatory and Vancouver School of Arts and Academics — which close at 2:05 p.m. Students will be bused to their home middle schools, where they will stay until middle schools are released and will ride the middle school buses home. Parents have the option to pick their child up from school at 2:05 p.m.
Evergreen Public Schools canceled evening events but is keeping schools open.
“We’re just monitoring right now,” said Gail Spolar, Evergreen communication director. “It seems like every forecast we hear and see is a little bit different.”
“Clearly if we make any decision about sending students home early we want to give parents as much notice because we don’t want to deliver — especially our elementary students — to homes where there’s no one home,” she said.
Spolar added drivers are out now surveying the district to evaluate conditions. Parents should make sure contact information is up to date with schools for notification about any announcements. Evergreen uses Flash Alert to send information and Spolar said within three minutes of a decision the information will be on all social media platforms as well.
Classes and activities at Washington State University Vancouver after 5:30 p.m. were cancelled.
Because of the weather, C-Tran is running 40-foot buses at all Vine stops. Turtle Place is closed, instead passengers will board at 12th and Washington streets or 13th and Broadway. Camas connector service will not serve Prune Hill on Tuesday morning.
The Council for the Homeless announced that it has expanded its capacity through its partners at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church and Living Hope Church. Anyone needing shelter can call the council’s Housing Hotline at 360-695-9677 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weeknights and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends.
Anyone needing transportation assistance to get to a shelter are asked to call the Coordinated Outreach Line at 360-723-5054.
In response to the weather, the city of Vancouver said it canceled today’s 6 p.m. land use hearing. The city said hearing will be rescheduled.
Clark County announced offices will open two hours late Wednesday, and the state of the county event planned for that afternoon will be postponed, likely to late March.
County offices and courts will open at 10 a.m.
The county also announced today’s meeting of the Commission on Aging is canceled, and is rescheduled for 4:30 p.m. Feb. 27. The county council’s planned work session on indigent defense, planned for Wednesday morning, is also canceled.
Larch Corrections Center closed to all non-essential staff at noon, and canceled afternoon and evening volunteer activities.
The county Public Works Department said road crews were planning for a round-the-clock work, after pretreating county roads Monday and early today with de-icing solution.
The areas seeing the most snow and ice are generally above 500 feet elevation. Other areas didn’t have enough snow to plow this afternoon. Drivers can check road conditions in the city with the city’s traffic cameras, available at Public Works’ website.
“We will deliver whatever response is needed to help our residents get through this late-season snowfall,” said Scott Wilson, Road Maintenance and Safety Division manager, in a news release from the department.
Public Works also encouraged people to plan ahead and limit travel if possible, and, if there’s enough snow, to watch for kids playing in it and for pedestrians trying to maneuver around it.
Report fallen trees or limbs at 360-397-2446. Call Clark Public Utilities for downed power lines at 360-397-8000.
Vancouver’s parks and recreation facilities closed early Tuesday as well. The Firstenburg and Marshall community centers close at 7 p.m., and the Vancouver Tennis Center at 8 p.m.
The city Parks and Recreation Department advised facilities may open late Wednesday.
