Cold snap to bring snow and freezing rain across western Oregon and southwest Washington

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Cold, modified arctic air is flowing out of the Columbia River Gorge today and will continue overnight & Wednesday. Peak wind gusts will top 50 mph creating dangerously low wind chill temperatures.

WEATHER | LATEST STORM TRACKER 2 FORECAST

High temperatures will continue to top out in the mid to upper 30s while morning lows will fall into the upper teens and lower 20s.

Thursday, an area of low pressure will approach the southern Oregon Coast, will move inland bring precipitation into the Willamette Valley early morning and move north through the day. Precipitation will start as snow or freezing rain locally late morning or early afternoon. Computer models suggest snow amounts between 1” to 2” with a transition to freezing rain by the evening.Areas outside of the gorge influence would see a change to freezing rain faster than those where the east or north wind continues to reinforce cold air.

The biggest question mark with the forecast remains to be the amount of precipitation that will be available.

The National Weather Service in Portland has released its latest probability-based forecast for freezing rain and snow for western Oregon and southwest Washington.

The likelihood of freezing rain in amounts of 0.2 inches or more remains highest in the mid-Willamette Valley and Oregon Coast range. NWS says Corvallis has a 68% chance of seeing freezing rain after snow. Salem and McMinnville both have a 38% chance of seeing freezing rain amounts of 0.2 inches or more.

Areas outside of the gorge influence would see a change to freezing rain faster than those where the east or north wind continues to reinforce cold air.

The transition from snow & freezing rain could take up to 36 from Thursday morning until Friday afternoon.

It’s very likely area roads and highways will be coated with snow and ice during that period. The last place to transition out of the wintry mix will be areas east of I-205 & the Columbia River Gorge.

The Storm Tracker 2 Meteorologists will continue to track this incoming winter weather. Dave Salesky will have the latest forecast at 4, 5, 6, and 11 p.m.