Well, that was fun.
Snow fell in downtown Vancouver this morning. Honest to goodness, white flakes.
The first flakes were spotted around 7:45 a.m. Snow was covering lawns, cars and roofs in Hazel Dell and Salmon Creek. Some plate-sized, heavy snow flakes were being reported throughout Clark County.
The National Weather Service predicted snow levels would fall to between 500 and 1,000 feet after 1 p.m. But a curveball from Mother Nature upped the timeline. The weather service issued a Winter Weather Advisory at about 8 a.m.
The morning’s large flakes were the product of somewhat rare circumstances: Big snow flakes are produced by the joining of smaller flakes during snowfalls in temperatures slightly above freezing when there’s little or no wind.
Jeff Mize of Clark County Public Works said about two inches of snow fell in North County and Washougal. Mize said snow plows were activated in those areas.
A handful of wrecks involving cars sliding off roads and into ditches and poles have been reported throughout Clark County, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian. Firefighters responding to the wrecks were being urged to drive cautiously.
Up to three inches of accumulation is expected in higher elevations. An inch could accumulate below 500 feet.
“This hit after the morning commute. As of right now, we’re not expecting any problems with the evening commute,” Mize said at about 8:45 a.m.
Snow figures into the forecast on each of this week’s remaining work days and again on Sunday. A heavy winter storm, complete with a possible snow storm, is expected next week.
As of about 9:30 a.m., the mercury at Pearson Field had climbed to 42 degrees.
Officials at Portland International Airport are encouraging travelers to account for possibly icy roads that could slow trips to PDX. Passengers are also urged to make sure their flight is on schedule before heading to the airport.
