Frequency and severity of ice storms in Oregon? (Portland, Pendleton: house, find a job)

[brubaker]

Ice storm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Also any tips you can pass along for weathering an ice storm.


What is it like being stuck in an ice storm?
Does everyone just call in sick for the day? Great masses of people walking to work?

Do the buses slide all over the streets as well?

Is it a yearly occurance...like clockwork? Multiple times a year?
I read this page about 'winter storms' but is that information (that they occur around once every four years) accurate for ice storms?

Do they last a long time when they come?
Months without electricity?
Etc.


Thanks.
Not trying to stir up the Oregon Haters...if there are any here...just curious and concerned about driving to work in this:
Portland Ice Storm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoxOReXlHI

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by brubaker

Ice storm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Also any tips you can pass along for weathering an ice storm.


What is it like being stuck in an ice storm?
Does everyone just call in sick for the day? Great masses of people walking to work?

Do the buses slide all over the streets as well?

Is it a yearly occurance...like clockwork? Multiple times a year?
I read this page about 'winter storms' but is that information (that they occur around once every four years) accurate for ice storms?

Do they last a long time when they come?
Months without electricity?
Etc.


Thanks.
Not trying to stir up the Oregon Haters...if there are any here...just curious and concerned about driving to work in this:

I only know what it's like in the Willamette Valley...

No one goes for month without electricity unless the power line is torn from the house & not replaced.

Last year the snow was hell here. Maybe it'll get worse because of climate change. It remains to be seen.

If you're worried about driving to work here... It's the same concern I would have. Both of us need to find a job first though *L*

Usually extreme weather is somewhat predictable. I would just have a plan B ready to utilize...like leaving for work EXTRA early to drive really SLOW & cautiously...

Snow here is ridiculous. The streets are treated with SAND not salt. Go figure.

People don't really know how to handle snow here & it's a trip to drive among such people...I"m not the best driver myself but I think I know when to go slowly.

2 years ago there was a PILE UP at the entrance to the community college! I saw it! (Then I got lost going home.)

The school hadn't posted the snow day announcement early enough for the students to know not to come that day....

I zig zagged to work (don't have that job anymore) down a street last year on the way to work & was so relieved to have avoided hitting anything... a miracle. I was driving slowly & then all of a sudden I started fish tailing & I was trying to miss the parked cars & finally was able to zig into someone's driveway to slide to a stop.

The sand committee doesn't have a reliable schedule here in my opinion... I dread the coming snow. I wish they'd use salt. I think the environment could handle it & I think the wear & tear on car paint would be minimal as the snow season isn't that long here.

Snow:Off & on for 3 months????

Kate

[Sign]

From what I've seen, ice storms are a fairly common occurence in various parts of Oregon, each winter. Don't know if you could call each icy event, a TRUE icestorm though, but icy roads are to be expected in many parts of the state in the winter.
Sometimes the ice (freezing rain) is confined to "certain" places like I-84 east from Portland on out to Pendleton, all through the gorge or in the higher hills, other times......it can be a mess everywhere or anywhere if it's below freezing at ground level and raining or drizzling. A LOT depends on elevation, cold temps. and moisture. Melting and freezing levels that constantly change with different air masses. Often, all this results in a LOT of icy roads to occur in much of the state.
Black ice is also common and especially bad on roads with lots of trees blocking sunlight.....so you FEEL safe until one shady spot sends you into a tailspin.
Pure ice is practically impossible to walk on, let alone drive on.
When your car won't do anything but spin on a flat surface.......it's bad.
ANY hilly terrain........means YOUR stranded and shouldn't even think about trying to go anywhere.

[Silverfall]

We get black ice on the roads yearly, I-84 being a really common place along the Gorge. I'd say we get a good ice storm every other year. We get snow that sticks about every three years. (here in the mid-valley) The most I have been without power was a week, which was when I lived in Portland. I think I have lost power for a few hours on a couple of other occasions.

Yes, everything shuts down and no one goes anywhere. Or they go to work later in the day as the ice starts to melt. I've lived here for 20 years and I don't remember ever having two ice storms in a year.

[davefr]

Frost on the roads in the morning and wet roads that freeze at night are very common late Nov - mid Mar.

However nearly once a year we get freezing rain but it's usually gone in a day or two. When there's freezing rain you stay home!! Sometimes the freezing rain is quite thick and will knock out power for extended periods. About a week is the longest I've been without power.

To survive NW Oregon winters you need to have studded or good traction tires and the skill to drive in these condition. If you afraid then stay home or take the train. (however Max is usually out of commision during ice storms too)

Prepare your household for winter emergencies. (water, blankets, radio, flashlight, etc)

[AnotherPDXGuy]

I'd say we tend to get one significant ice/snow event per year, though some years we get none. I've never seen extended power outages.

As a native Oregonian, even I will attest that we don't handle ice/snow events well at all. Most likely, if there is a heavy ice or snow storm, you won't be expected to make it to work at all, or maybe by noon, or something like that. Streets shut down, schools shut down, people have no idea how to drive in snow, and due to the infrequency, the cities don't tend to own enough plows or clearance devises.

People from places used to harsh winters really roll their eyes when they watch Northwesterners try to handle a few inches of snow.

(Snow days are fun though, so I ain't complaining!)

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by AnotherPDXGuy

People from places used to harsh winters really roll their eyes when they watch Northwesterners try to handle a few inches of snow.

I lived in Illinois before Oregon. When I first moved to Oregon we lived in the Portland West Hills and I worked in Vancouver. It started to lightly snow when I was at work and everyone kept telling me to get going. Not really seeing a snow problem, I stayed. It took me 6 hours to get home (normal time 30 minutes back then). Drivers stopped on hills (big no no) and were stuck. They abandoned their cars. They clogged intersections, etc. I have never seen anything like that.

Oregonians have no idea about the rules of driving in snow, so everyone stays home because they'd all kill each other in car accidents.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by AnotherPDXGuy

IStreets shut down, schools shut down, people have no idea how to drive in snow, and due to the infrequency, the cities don't tend to own enough plows or clearance devises.

People from places used to harsh winters really roll their eyes when they watch Northwesterners try to handle a few inches of snow.

(Snow days are fun though, so I ain't complaining!)

Until they get out on it themselves and realize there is a pure sheet of ice under it. Have had a couple of coworkers from Canada do exactly that, then both got in wrecks.

BTW, Portland took so long to clear the streets last year because the overtime budget was shot after the second day. It's only about $1 million which is usually enough.

Bad years were 1981, 1985, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2008. A lot of the problem is the wind, if Eastern Oregon has a quick cool down the wind down the Gorge causes the rain to freeze pretty badly. Also if there is a cold front from Canada with a rain storm coming off the Ocean, (which happened last year) then we're pretty well screwed.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I lived in Illinois before Oregon. When I first moved to Oregon we lived in the Portland West Hills and I worked in Vancouver. It started to lightly snow when I was at work and everyone kept telling me to get going. Not really seeing a snow problem, I stayed. It took me 6 hours to get home (normal time 30 minutes back then). Drivers stopped on hills (big no no) and were stuck. They abandoned their cars. They clogged intersections, etc. I have never seen anything like that.

Oregonians have no idea about the rules of driving in snow, so everyone stays home because they'd all kill each other in car accidents.

I spent most of a winter in Great Lakes,IL at the U.S. Navy Diesel Engine A School. The wind would blow us right down the snowcovered road.



When i was a kid & Daddy was away fighting a war we lived in Milwaukee cuz we had relatives thar.

Have a Great Evening...