After days of hype and a Friday of frenzied buying, Clark County gets its snow day today.
Only perhaps an inch covered the metro area, but combined with sub-freezing temperatures it was enough to make it the perfect morning to stay inside. Most community events and activities, including virtually anything taking place at a school, are canceled.
Social media posts originating in Camas and Washougal showed higher accumulations than Vancouver. The National Weather Service says some areas of the county had 4 inches of snow fall this morning. And road conditions are treacherous further east. A semi-truck rollover reported around 8:30 a.m. on eastbound state Highway 14 at Milepost 21 near Lawton Creek continued to be listed among traffic alerts two hours later.
But as temperatures rose and the sun shone through clouds, many major roads were free of snow and wet. The National Weather Service canceled a countywide winter storm warning about three hours early. There are currently no weather advisories for the area.
Camas got the most snow out of any county community. According to the weather service’s snow accumulation totals as of 11:40 a.m., 8 inches were dumped on the town. Many spots in Vancouver received about half that amount. Cascade Park snow measured about 4 1/2 inches while about 3 1/2 inches fell around the Vancouver Mall. The weather service listed a total of 1.8 inches for Battle Ground.
At 7:30 a.m., the temperature was only 30 degrees, and forecasters were predicting another blast of snow later today before a cold, frozen night. Another light dash of snow is expected Sunday, with the forecast high barely above freezing. In total, the snowfall might be a couple of inches, accompanied by black ice where it melts. We’ll suffer through this mix of snow, rain, ice and near-freezing temperatures for several days.
If you do venture out, local roads are covered in compact snow and ice, including the freeways, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s traffic cameras. If you’re flying, Portland International Airport is operating, but many individual flights are canceled, particularly to other Pacific Northwest airports. Check with your airline before you make the trek. If you want to change your plans, many airlines are waiving cancellation and change fees.
Freeway traffic appeared light in Clark County. Only seven accidents had been reported between midnight and 8:30 a.m. In Portland, slick overpasses caused a number of trucks to jacknife, jamming traffic at Airport Way and the I-5/I-84 interchange, according to local TV.
A handful of power outages were reported by Clark Public Utilities, affecting about 600 customers by early morning, mostly near the county line north of Camas-Washougal. At one point more than 2,000 customers lost power. Trees and branches touching or knocking down power lines were the major culprits, said spokeswoman Erica Erland.
Some Columbian customers did not receive their newspapers today due to the icy roads; access to our e-edition and website are free to subscribers.
The winter storm is widespread. The Seattle area has it worse, with several more inches of snow expected today, and highs not expected to exceed freezing. It’s windy there, and by day’s end part of the Seattle metro area could have a foot of snow. The Columbia River Gorge is a mess, with traction tires or chains required on Highway 14, and sn0w is forecast to head into the lower Willamette Valley today. In Eastern Washington, Spokane is living up to its reputation as a town whose citizens know about winter.
If you’re taking C-Tran, here’s the latest:
AM buses on snow routes. *Routes 2, 6, 9, 19, 31 and 32 are on snow routes.
*Route 30 not serving McLoughlin between Grand and Reserve.
*Route 39 is suspended until further notice.
*On Route 80, the southbound stop on the Northeast 138th Avenue Hill between 22nd and 18th streets is closed.
*Route 92 not serving Addy Street or Addy Loop in Washougal.
*Turtle Place is closed, and 40-foot buses are serving the Vine. Passengers should board at designated snow stops adjacent to platforms.
*C-Van is making medically necessary trips ONLY.
