If you live above 500 feet in Clark County, the National Weather Service in Portland says you can expect half an inch to one inch of slushy snow Tuesday.
But it could be short-lived.
“These types of patterns usually don’t produce widespread sticking snow in the valleys,” meteorologist Chris Collins said.
Snow fell Monday in Battle Ground and hit other parts of north Clark County on Monday evening.
“It’s snowing pretty light in town, but closer to Yacolt, it is coming down pretty hard, my boss told me,” said Tony Melo, a barista at Old Town Battle Grounds.
Light snow was falling Monday night in Yacolt where the roads were already slushy, said North Country EMS Chief Ben Peeler.
About 7 p.m., Ronna Walsh commented on The Columbian’s website: “It took me an hour to get home from Battle Ground due to it snowing so hard, it’s a winter wonderland in Yacolt. Everything covered here, very quiet and beautiful.”
Crews were preparing Monday evening for the possibility of an icy commute Tuesday.
Colder temperatures late Monday night into this morning could produce snowflakes even at the lowest elevations of Clark County and the Willamette Valley, according to the National Weather Service. But accumulation, if any, is far less certain, said warning coordination meteorologist Tyree Wilde.
Another system rolling in late Tuesday into Wednesday could produce similarly cold conditions, Wilde said. With cold air expected to come from the east at that time, the Columbia River Gorge stands a much better chance of seeing snow on the ground, he said. Forecasters should have a better idea of what to expect later today, Wilde said.
This much is certain: the Cascade Mountains will continue to get walloped by heavy snow in the coming days. An earlier blizzard warning had been lifted by Monday morning, but a winter storm warning remains in effect.
“This is the type of pattern where we can get a few feet of snow in the Cascades,” Wilde said.
Craig Brown and Patty Hastings of The Columbian contributed to this report.
