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A storm that swept through the Pacific Northwest produced heavy snow, ice build-up and freezing rain over the weekend and left hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon and Washington without electricity Monday.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency on Saturday in nine counties due to severe winter weather that resulted in heavy snow and ice accumulation, high winds, critical transportation failures and loss of power and communication capabilities.
“Severe wind and ice conditions caused significant damage to the power system, with utilities reporting thousands of broken power lines, as well as damage to transmission lines and substations,” Brown said in a statement released on Sunday.
Thus, over 320,000 power outages have been reported across Oregon, with Portland General Electric reporting the majority of power outages, affecting 280,000 customers as of noon Monday and Pacific Power reporting the second highest number of outages with 40,000. affected customers. “A series of historic storms hit our communities, causing three waves of snow, ice and wind,” Portland General Electric said of the winter weather event. “As each storm hits, more ice builds up on trees and power lines, causing more trees and power lines to fall… as we repair one area, another area is falling. affected and other repairs should be made.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced an emergency due to hazardous weather conditions, shutting down government offices at noon Monday and Multnomah County officials kept weather shelters open at the Oregon Convention Center in downtown Portland and the Metro Garage for residents who need a safe and warm place to stay. through the storm.
The National Weather Service announced ice storm warnings in both Portland and Seattle over the weekend and each city’s transportation departments issued travel advisories warning residents of stay indoors if possible. Widespread rain in Seattle early Monday morning resulted in pockets of snow and freezing rain in the valleys near the Cascades, the National Weather Service tweeted on Monday.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said parts of Emerald Town received nearly a foot of snow on Saturday as the town broke the record for the snowiest day in decades with 8.9 inches of snow falling at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle (where official snowfall records are kept) on Saturday February 13. , according to CNN affiliate KOMO.
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