The Pacific Northwest braces for a new round of ice and freezing rain after deadly weekend storm
The Pacific Northwest is bracing for more hazardous winter weather after a weekend storm that resulted in at least five deaths
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Your support makes all the difference.The Pacific Northwest was bracing for freezing rain and ice Tuesday even as tens of thousands of residents struggled with a dayslong power outage wrought by a weekend storm that was blamed for at least five deaths.
Snow and strong winds knocked down power lines and trees. Freezing rain was forecast in the Seattle area late Tuesday, and parts of southwest Washington and western Oregon — including the state's largest cities of Portland, Salem and Eugene — were under an ice storm warning, with meteorologists expecting up to half an inch of ice through early Wednesday. Warmer air was expected to provide some relief starting later Wednesday.
“We’re lucky to be alive,” said Lake Oswego, Oregon, resident Justin Brooks, as he used a chainsaw to cut up two massive tree trunks that narrowly missed his home when they fell.
The National Weather Service warned of dangerous driving conditions and urged residents to prepare for more power outages. As of midday Tuesday, about 52,000 people in Oregon still remained without power, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility outage reports.
“Trees are already weak in some locations and the ice buildup may be the thing to break the (camel’s) back,” the agency’s Portland office said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
At least five deaths were blamed on nasty weather over the weekend, including that of a man killed when a tree struck his house in Lake Oswego, and a woman who died when a tree crushed a recreational vehicle in Portland, trapping her and causing a fire, authorities said. Temperatures that hovered in the teens and 20s were believed to have caused at least three hypothermia deaths, two in Portland and one in Tigard, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Portland, authorities said.
While the Pacific Northwest is more known for rain and wasn’t set to experience the Arctic temperatures or significant snowfall blanketing other parts of the U.S., the heavily forested region is especially prone to the danger of falling trees and power lines, particularly during freezing rain and ice storms.
Freezing rain falls as water but freezes when it hits roads and other cold surfaces. It can weigh down trees and power lines, making them heavier and likelier to snap, especially in strong winds.
Previous ice storms in 2017 and 2021 paralyzed the area and left hundreds of thousands without power.
The ice storm forecast prompted Portland Public Schools, the largest district in the state, to cancel classes Tuesday and Wednesday. It amounted to additional missed days of in-person learning for students following a teachers strike in November that shut down schools for roughly three weeks.
Courts, libraries and parks were also closed in Portland and other parts of Multnomah County.
County officials extended a weather state of emergency until noon Wednesday and decided to keep a record 12 overnight emergency weather shelters open for an additional night Tuesday. The county said 1,181 people slept in the shelters Monday night, breaking the previous night's record of 1,136.
Officials issued an urgent call for volunteers, citing the high demand for shelter services in an area where thousands of people live outside at risk of cold exposure.
"The real limitation for us right now is staffing,” said Dan Field, director of the joint county-city homelessness office. “We have to have enough people to keep the doors open of the emergency shelters.”
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Associated Press journalist Jennifer Kane in Lake Oswego, Oregon, contributed to this report.