PORTLAND, Ore. — On Thursday morning, Portland experienced just a few hours of snowfall, yet it was enough to create turmoil throughout the metro region. This included countless flight cancellations, the closure of hundreds of schools, and a series of public transit delays. Notably, the storm set off a miles-long traffic jam and a complete shutdown of southbound Interstate 5 near Hazel Dell later in the day.

Eastern regions, particularly in the Columbia River Gorge, faced even more severe conditions. Continuous snowfall coupled with strong winds caused multiple accidents on Interstate 84, leading to a substantial pileup involving as many as 30 vehicles in whiteout weather.

Portland received a brief respite in the afternoon, with snowfall ceasing by 1 p.m. and yielding to partly cloudy skies and slightly warmer temperatures. However, the storm is not finished; a new wave of precipitation is forecasted to start around 4 p.m. in Salem, moving northward and possibly bringing a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.

Freezing rain is expected to persist through the night, which may create an additional layer of ice that complicates road conditions for Friday morning. Currently, a Winter Storm Warning is in effect for Portland until Friday morning, while an Ice Storm Warning has been issued south of Wilsonville. KGW has also released a Weather Impact Alert extending through Friday.

Throughout the week, Multnomah County has expanded its network of emergency warming shelters. On Thursday night alone, eight shelters were activated, although the county issued an urgent request for additional volunteers, seeking 50 more individuals to assist overnight.

Washington County has set up two overnight shelters, with at least one each in Clackamas and Clark counties.

According to Multnomah County, 489 people utilized shelters Wednesday night, while nearly 200 more found refuge at seasonal Salvation Army locations or overflow beds in year-round shelters.

The heavy snow caused slick road conditions from Salem to Portland, resulting in multiple accident reports on TripCheck.com, even after extensive pre-treatment efforts by local transportation agencies.

Interstate 5 witnessed intermittent lane closures in both directions, with trucks losing control on hilly areas north of Vancouver, at times leading to complete stoppages. In Marion County, a disabled vehicle temporarily halted traffic southbound near Battle Creek Road.

Northeast 238th Drive, near Fairview and Troutdale, became notorious for accidents on Thursday morning, with officials indicating that over 20 vehicles were involved in various incidents along this stretch.

Numerous accidents also occurred on I-84 in the Gorge throughout the morning, culminating in a significant pileup near Multnomah Falls involving around 30 vehicles, as reported by the Oregon Department of Transportation. An SUV in this incident caught fire; fortunately, all passengers managed to exit safely.

The Oregon State Police reported responding to eight separate incidents along this route throughout the day, noting that other law enforcement agencies addressed an “unknown number” of additional crashes.

The police attributed these accidents to a combination of icy roads and near-whiteout conditions. Four individuals sustained minor injuries and were transported to hospitals. Many drivers remained trapped inside their vehicles following the massive pileup, as reported by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

The majority of the westbound segment from Cascade Locks to Troutdale was shut down for a large part of the afternoon, with authorities indicating that it was not fully cleared even by around 4:45 p.m., although some traffic began to flow again. Drivers were advised to avoid this area whenever possible.

TriMet has advised passengers to brace for delays and constant schedule changes while recommending everyone to limit travel if possible. Some bus services were canceled, particularly those operating at higher elevations, such as Line 63 through Washington Park. Nonetheless, most routes continued to run, albeit at reduced speeds due to heavy chains that slowed buses to 25 mph.

The MAX light rail system remained operational, although it faced delays and disruptions stemming from localized issues, such as a small tree falling on an overhead wire in North Portland, temporarily halting Orange and Yellow Line services.

One bus slid off Electric Street near Oregon City, although it remains unclear if it was occupied at the time, and TriMet confirmed that no injuries were reported.

Various Amtrak trains traveling south from Seattle to Portland experienced delays, but none were canceled.

Portland Public Schools, along with the Beaverton and Salem-Keizer School Districts, canceled classes on Thursday, a decision echoed by more than 200 additional districts throughout northwest Oregon. Notifications of these cancellations began around 5 a.m., just an hour before the first snowfall in Salem.

Several districts have already decided to cancel classes for Friday, including Beaverton, Reynolds, Gaston, Hillsboro, Sherwood, Tigard-Tualatin, Northwest Regional East, and Forest Grove. Some areas opted for a two-hour delay in their start times, such as Clark County, Knappa, and Vancouver. A few private institutions and colleges also announced closures.

View the latest closures in Oregon here.

Throughout the morning, over 80 flights in and out of Portland International Airport were scrapped, including 28 flights operated by Alaska Airlines. By approximately 3 p.m., total cancellations exceeded 100, with disruptions anticipated to continue through the early hours of Friday.

Despite the challenging weather, the airport remained functional in the morning; however, conditions worsened significantly with the onset of snowfall. PDX’s departure records indicate that most flights scheduled between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. experienced delays.

A representative from the Port of Portland stated that runways and taxiways had been pre-treated, with additional de-icing vehicles ready to ensure operations continued smoothly.

Amid the snowfall and high winds, some trees were downed and minor power issues arose; however, these incidents were relatively contained. The most significant reported was a tree falling onto a power line near Southwest Vermont Street and 62nd Avenue, impacting approximately 900 customers.

At around 3 p.m., PGE’s outage map showed about 850 customers without power, with numbers dropping to approximately 130 an hour later after addressing a major outage in Southwest Portland. Pacific Power reported minimal outage issues.

In subsequent communications, PGE noted that most outages occurred in Gresham and the West Hills, successfully restoring power to roughly 5,000 customers throughout the morning.