Winter Storm Continues Its Grip on Portland, Oregon, Metro Area

The winter storm in North West Oregon. Google Weather and news for the Portland Metro area suggests a blue sky with little cloud! The local observations from Bull Mountain couldn't be more wrong. The guys must have woke up slightly jaded today. As I live locally to the area, I see no change. You can also view this by using google's new IG web page, it will bring up a weather thread. Just type in 97224 in the zip code box for Portland. Or your local zip code for a more informative look at your area.

I took a little trip outdoors today. To my surprise I found very little in the way of blue sky. None at all in fact! It's still snowing in many places.

There is some good news for as long as it lasts, in there seems to be a thaw coming on Friday. The bad news is, there is more snow to fall before then. Wednesday and Thursday could see another 12 inches of snow fall. So yes for many of us it is gong o be a white Christmas.

The recent winter storms have been the worst since at least 1980. With many places still under at least 12 inches of snow. In fact if by the time the winter storms have finished, they could lead to some of the highest snow fall totals, since weather records began for the area in 1880.

This years storms have already been billed as being in the top ten of all time. The recent storms have seen at least a few inches to a foot each day, for the last 10 days. A thick coating of ice was thrown on top of the snow at the weekend. Also six foot snow drifts have been reported on major routes.

Highways have been totally closed by police, or have been very difficult to travel on. Drivers waking up this morning may well have been forgiven for there false sense of security on looking at weather reports. Until they walked outdoors!

Again airports will also be affected, PDX has seen hundreds of passengers stranded, with flights that have delayed until further notice. Although much of the backlog of passengers is starting to come under control, it is advised you check with your flight operator. Especially as more snow is on the way, and likely to affect flights even more.

At the moment snow still falls, albeit quite light at the moment, it still adds to the snow that is already on the roads. Again there are police warnings that chains are still needed if you are going to travel out in your car. Police have asked for people to ask there boss at work if they have to come into work. As roads are dangerous still, and with more snow on the way, it spells traffic misery for a lot of commuters.

There are still many businesses closed, in what looks like it's going to be an extended holiday period for them. Tri-met public transport have even canceled some non-major routes until the worst of the weather is over. As the roads are to clogged with snow. So if you are a commuter who travels on public transport, you will need to check to see if transport is in operation in your area.

Oregon State Police have issued some alerts on there road conditions web page, definitely worth looking at for road users today. You will find many roadside surveillance cameras on the police site to, which will show you the current state of most major routes.

It is worth mentioning though, Friday is still a long way off, the weather can still change. With all the cold air in the atmosphere over Oregon, there is still the chance it will snow in many places. So keep checking on the weather before traveling anywhere. You can also ring the travel phone line, just dial 511 to get the updates.

All in all safety is first priority, if you are unsure, it is best policy to check first. Don't leave it til you are out on the road.

Sources: Oregon State Police, Google, Oregon Live.