After a wintry Christmas weekend, Clark County started to thaw out Tuesday afternoon, but the relief could be short-lived.
The forecast calls for the possibility of freezing rain starting overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, which could cause some issues for the morning commute.
Andy Bryant, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, said temperatures were expected to get down below freezing with rain starting sometime after midnight. Bryant added that if there is freezing rain overnight or early Wednesday, it should turn to regular rain after the morning with temperatures sitting somewhere in the mid-30s. The good news, he added, is that there isn’t expected to be too much rain Wednesday.
“There’s not a lot of moisture in this weak system moving in,” Bryant said. “It does look like on Friday we’ll have more significant rain.”
Bryant said the forecast is calling for more rain Thursday and Friday, but with temperatures in the low- to mid-40s.
“It’s a pretty strong bet that we’re going to be wet Thursday and Friday,” he said. “That would be more significant amounts of rain, maybe around an inch of rain or so those two days.”
Bryant said conditions could be worse for drivers traveling through mountain passes and the Columbia River Gorge this week; he said anyone doing so should be very cautious.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn had the same advice for anyone out on the road during freezing rain.
“Only travel if you have to,” he said. “If you’re able to telecommute, that’d be great.”
Finn said there were some weather-related accidents over the holiday weekend, including an eight-car crash on state Highway 14 near Camas. A 69-year-old Ariel man died Monday afternoon when he lost control of his pickup truck on an icy Highway 503 at milepost 43, 8 miles east of Woodland, and plunged down an embankment where he struck a tree.
There were some issues with ice on the Interstate 5 Bridge during the holiday, Finn said, and a backup of cars after some trucks stopped to put chains on their tires.
On Tuesday, a crash involving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 5 southbound slowed down traffic shortly after 5:30 a.m., as did a crash on state Highway 500 a bit after 6 a.m., blocking the right lane near 112th Avenue and Gher Road. A crash at 7:18 a.m. on state Highway 502 sent two people to the hospital Tuesday when one driver heading eastbound on Highway 502 from Interstate 5 lost control and slid into the westbound lane, hitting another car.
A third car then rear-ended that car, as well.
Finn said it’s important to plan for the weather, which means packing snacks, water and a blanket in case you get stuck or have to pull off the road. He also said that drivers need to give themselves extra time to get to their destination and drive slow.
“Speed usually is a factor in these situations,” he said. “Overconfidence in driving ability and vehicle’s ability to handle these situations is also a factor.”
