Clark County was forecast to receive 1-2 inches of snow overnight Wednesday, not enough to spark another round of early school delay or closure announcements but enough to spur warnings for commuters to beware slippery roads.
Evan Bentley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Portland, said the couple of inches of snow would accompany temperatures right around 30 degrees, meaning drivers can expect some road impacts this morning.
“Most people will probably see sun by the late afternoon,” Bentley said.
Thursday’s forecast for Vancouver calls for a 50 percent chance of snow before 10 a.m., with cloudy skies turning sunny and a high near 35 degrees.
Before press time Wednesday night, the Battle Ground school district said classes will start Thursday following a three-hour delay, and Hockinson will start after a two-hour delay.
Forecasters expect less than half an inch of new accumulation during the day.
“There could be a few snowflakes on the front edge of that, but nothing really impactful,” Bentley said.
The snowfall Tuesday night stopped in time for the Wednesday morning commute, but the accumulation left behind had many of the roads in the Portland-Vancouver area caked with crusty, compact snow and ice.
Those conditions prompted closures for numerous Clark County schools, and led to multiple vehicle crashes and slip-outs around the county.
The weather service expects low temperatures around 23 degrees, with a slight chance of snow early Friday morning.
Any chance of snow Friday is forecast to turn to a solid chance of rain by late that morning, and high temperatures later in the day are expected to be near 38 degrees.
Showers and temperatures above freezing to the mid-40s are expected through the week and into the weekend, according to forecasters.
“We’re kind of staying in this cold pattern through the end of the month, at least,” Bentley said.
Snow levels will likely remain relatively low, he said, but there’s no saying yet whether they’ll get low enough to bring snow to the metro area.
