The Pacific Northwest was bracing for freezing rain and ice Tuesday even as tens of thousands of residents struggled with a dayslong power outage wrought by a weekend storm that was blamed for at least five deaths.
Snow and strong winds knocked down power lines and trees. Freezing rain was forecast in the Seattle area late Tuesday, and parts of southwest Washington and western Oregon — including the state’s largest cities of Portland, Salem and Eugene — were under an ice storm warning, with meteorologists expecting up to half an inch of ice through early Wednesday. Warmer air was expected to provide some relief starting later Wednesday.
“We’re lucky to be alive,” said Lake Oswego, Oregon, resident Justin Brooks, as he used a chainsaw to cut up two massive tree trunks that narrowly missed his home when they fell.
The National Weather Service warned of dangerous driving conditions and urged residents to prepare for more power outages. As of midday Tuesday, about 52,000 people in Oregon still remained without power, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility outage reports.
Trees are already weak in some locations and the ice buildup may be the thing to break the (camel’s) back,” the agency’s Portland office said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
At least five deaths were blamed on nasty weather over the weekend, including that of a man killed when a tree struck his house in Lake Oswego, and a woman who died when a tree crushed a recreational vehicle in Portland, trapping her and causing a fire, authorities said. Temperatures that hovered in the teens and 20s were believed to have caused at least three hypothermia deaths, two in Portland and one in Tigard, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Portland, authorities said.
While the Pacific Northwest is more known for rain and wasn’t set to experience the Arctic temperatures or significant snowfall blanketing other parts of the U.S., the heavily forested region is especially prone to the danger of falling trees and power lines, particularly during freezing rain and ice storms.
Freezing rain falls as water but freezes when it hits roads and other cold surfaces. It can weigh down trees and power lines, making them heavier and likelier to snap, especially in strong winds.
( Source AP)
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