Posted October 17, 2018 07:59:16As the cold and snowy weather continues to push through the mountains of Washington, Oregon’s mountains will soon have snowfall.
On Thursday, Oregon State Parks and the National Weather Service will begin issuing snow warnings through Friday, October 18.
“We expect snowfall of 10 to 12 inches in some areas,” said Ken Graziano, the state parks meteorologist.
“We’re seeing 10 to 15 inches of snow in some parts of the state.
Snowfall is likely to peak late Friday afternoon and late Saturday evening.”
As of Thursday, Washington was averaging 8 inches of winter precipitation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The most likely storm surge is 1 to 2 feet,” Graziere said.
The forecast is also getting worse, with up to 3 feet of snow on the ground by Friday night.
Graziano said the National Park Service is expecting to have to call in an extra crew of park rangers to help monitor the conditions.
“They are also going to need extra personnel in their vehicle to make sure there’s enough food, water and other supplies,” he said.
“This is a huge situation,” Gaziano said.
“It’s going to be difficult for a lot of people to get back into their homes and move around and they’re going to have a very difficult time getting to work.”
As snow continues to fall in Washington, people can expect to see the city of Portland getting the biggest boost.
“Portland is going to get up to 4 to 6 inches of new snow, up to 5 to 7 inches in the mountains and the city is going into the afternoon,” Grazeiano said.
“I would expect Portland to be pretty big tonight.
The wind is going out to the north, there’s a lot wind gusts.
There are also gusts up to 25 miles per hour, but the wind is not as strong as it has been.”
Oregon will be getting another significant boost in snowfall, with the state forecasted to see 5 to 8 inches, according the National Avalanche Center.
On Wednesday, a snow storm was also expected to hit the West Coast, with winds up to 20 mph.
“If that happens, that could really push the snow into Oregon,” Gritsch said.
