Snowfall stopped in time for the Wednesday morning commute, but the accumulation left behind had many of the roads in the Portland-Vancouver area caked with crusty, compact snow and ice. Those conditions prompted closures for numerous Clark County schools.
Below freezing temperatures persisted early Wednesday morning, but things warmed up in the Vancouver area by noon and much of the snow that fell overnight began to melt.
Yacolt and north Battle Ground got the most snow, with 8 1/2 and 7 inches respectively. Camas was blanketed with a respectable 6 inches of snow.
The National Weather Service forecast said there is a 30 percent chance of snow after 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Vancouver area. However, little or no snow accumulation is expected. Vancouver saw about 3 inches, according to weather service measurements.
The temperature is expected to climb up to 39 degrees as the day continues. About an inch of snow is expected later tonight as it gets chillier outside.
Due to the foul weather conditions, many schools closed for the day. The school districts of Battle Ground, Camas, Evergreen, Green Mountain, Hockinson, La Center, Ridgefield, Vancouver and Washougal all announced closures. Educational Service District 112 and the Southwest Washington Child Care Consortium have also shut their facilities.
Private and charter school closures include Columbia Adventist Academy, Cornerstone Christian Academy and Hosanna Christian School, among others. A full list of school closures can be found here.
College students had to tough it out and attend classes. Washington State University Vancouver opened at 10 a.m. Clark College opened an hour later.
Emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian indicated various minor vehicle crashes in the area, but none were severe enough for Washington Department of Transportation to issue official alerts for any roads in the county.
That’s not to say drivers aren’t sliding and crashing. Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency dispatched responders to eight or so crashes over a two-hour period starting around 6:30 a.m.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn tweeted that a tractor-trailer lost control about 4 a.m. on northbound Interstate 5, just south of the Woodland exit. Crews were still working to recover the semi four hours later. The right lane of the freeway was closed.
Finn said in a separate tweet later Wednesday morning that troopers responded to 17 crashes in Clark County since 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Transportation officials say crews have been working around the clock to clear and treat roads. Clark County Public Works Department plows spent the night plowing primary and secondary roads. Public Works said in a tweet that road crews will stay on 12-hour shifts. Drivers should give snowplows and deicers room to work.
Scattered outages happened overnight in mostly wooded areas of the county, said Clark County Public Utilities spokeswoman Erica Erland. A total of 256 customers were affected due to weighed down tree limbs contacting power lines; one outage overnight Wednesday was caused by a vehicle crash. Power has returned to all but a handful of people.
Delays in other services throughout Clark County trickled in through the morning. YMCA is opening later than usual, at 11 a.m. Daybreak Youth Services, an addiction treatment center in Brush Prairie, has postponed a free forum on teen addiction. Free Clinic of Southwest Washington is not offering health services but said it may open later in the day. Clark County state courts are on a two-hour delay.
C-Tran put some of its buses on snow routes and asked passengers to board at designated snow stops adjacent to platforms. Routes 2 and 6 were rerouted but returned to their normal service by the afternoon. Routes 9, 19, 32 and 47 are taking alternate routes. Routes 157, 177 and 190 have been taken out of service, with C-Tran reporting it would re-evaluate its operations throughout the day.
The Port of Vancouver closed the marine terminals to incoming cargo. It’s offices will open at 1 p.m.
The Columbian suspended newspaper delivery service across various parts of the county. Full access to the website is available until further notice.
A special weather statement posted on the weather service’s website called for more low elevation snow through early Thursday, but it has been taken down.
