The first day of winter blew in with a vengeance, topping calf-deep snow with a thick coat of ice and spewing winds that created whiteouts and 6-foot drifts. The region sometimes known for its wimpiness when a little snow falls faced weather conditions unlike any in at least a decade.
Travel by plane, train or automobile became a risky and slow endeavor -- if it happened at all.
State officials closed highways that had turned into ice rinks. Portland International Airport stayed open, but that proved little comfort to hundreds of holiday travelers stranded when airlines canceled many flights. Iced-up tracks and a derailment froze most chances of traveling by Amtrak train. TriMet had trouble running all of its MAX lines.
A thick glaze of ice froze car doors shut and kept people in, to the chagrin of struggling retailers who asked employees to brave the weather for the last shopping weekend before Christmas.
Even those in their homes weren't safe from the treachery outdoors. Blustery winds snapped tree limbs cocooned in ice, knocking out power to thousands as temperatures hovered around 20 degrees.
The next few days look no better. Rain, sleet and snow is expected this morning, with wintry precipitation likely to last all the way to Christmas.
All of Portland seemed paralyzed by snow and ice. We experienced a similar amount of snow fall here in Bend but with much less affect. We are used to driving in snowy conditions, and have a crew of snowplows which can keep most of the main streets passable. The most note worthy difference about this winter has been the temperatures, which hovered between -5 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit for more than a week. When the temperatures finally got closer to freezing around Christmas is when we saw more significant snow fall. We accumulated between one and two feet of snow and enjoyed a lovely white Christmas.
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