Most areas dodge freezing rain, Gorge still at risk
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PORTLAND, Ore. - After a long stretch of clear, cold days, changing weather conditions brought the threat of freezing rain to the region Wednesday morning but most areas outside of the Columbia River Gorge escaped any slick conditions.
"Although a Freezing Rain Advisory is still posted for the entire valley, temperatures continue to warm above freezing in most all of the metro area at this time," KATU Meteorologist Rhonda Shelby said just before 9 a.m.
"The front has stalled on the coast and has not moved inland yet. When light rain moves in after 11 a.m., some isolated areas south of Salem, near Eugene and east of Troutdale in the Gorge are still likely to see pockets of freezing rain. However, the rest of the area is out of danger," she added.
The coast will also see just rain.
The longer the rain holds off, the warmer temperatures will be when the moisture arrives, meaning most areas will get just plain old wet rain, Shelby said.
Light rain was appearing on VIPIR radar along the coast, near Eugene and outside the Portland area during the early-morning hours Wednesday but streets in the Portland area remained dry.
The National Weather Service issued a Freezing Rain Advisory for many Northwest Oregon counties areas west of Interstate 5. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Columbia River Gorge area.
The Oregon Department of Transportation also issued a warning to drivers to be alert for icy roads in the morning and crews have been laying down deicer for several days.
About 25 trucks sprayed the Portland area overnight, including in Vancouver, to help keep the roads clear of hazards.
The latest forecast shows high temperatures in the Portland area will be in the 40s as the week goes on, with lows in the upper 30s.
I suspect that they realy dont care what the public thinks and will make no changes to correct the broohaa they create via thier misinformation. These weather people have no accountability for thier forecasts.
Can they not just admit they cannot predict the weather at all? All of them. Not just KATU. They would do a better job if they just went outside, felt and saw what was going on weather wise then report THAT!. We don't really need them to even give us the temp. My cheap outside thermometer is more accurate then weather forecasters.
Yup just like I thought - no freezing rain - what a load of bull and a lot of noise, once again KATU shows the masses that they really dont have a clue. Not very dependable are they.
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God bless, we survived Freezageddon! Begone, Old man winter, go back to your frozen hinterlands!
Nice ploy by the local stations to create "value added" to sponsor packages for Les Schwab and America's Tire, by coming up with bogus weather reports, thus creating panic buys of studded tires, snow tires, and other traction devices.
"when they say a 20% chance of rain, it WILL rain in 20% of the area they're describing."
Regardless of who said it, this is wrong. A 20% change of rain means that for any randomly selected spot in the prediction area, there is a 20% change that it will rain there. It doesn't predict coverage or for any specific spot.
I've lived in many parts of the country and this area has the most complex weather patterns I've ever seen.
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And freezing rain does not mean there will be any ice on the roads. Right now, the roads are too warm for the ice to stick. Five days ago, it would have been a different story.
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where is the ice?
You gotta love it.  The link to "Latest KATU Storm Tracker weather forecast" was updated last before this article was posted YESTERDAY.   So helpful this Wednesday morning . . . .
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 @Dr. Rawdog How long did it take for the tow truck to haul you out? :)
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Musta bin a reel fat mink!
I always thought that when it was reported that there was a 20% chance of rain, they asked 10 weather "experts" for what the weather would be. If 8 said sunny, and 2 said rain, there was a good possibility of 20% rain. LOL.
Whatever weather there will be Wednesday morning, it will be what it is then. No need to worry about it until it gets to be tomorrow morning.
 @jpk I actually heard on a Portland channel once (oh, lord, I hope it wasn't Bosley) that when they say a 20% chance of rain, it WILL rain in 20% of the area they're describing.  If it was Bosley, it was probably tongue-in-cheek or flat-out wrong...why don't you research it and see if that's true....report back to us.  =)
Nah! Speaking on behalf of me, myself and I, we unanimously agree not to check into whether or not Bosley was involved! LOLÂ
 @jpk Cracking up here -- thanks for the late-night smile!
 @jpk I will check the rope I have hanging by my birdfeeders to see what is up after spending too many years on ranches & farms...
  @jpk Man, I feed 60-70 birds a day on my hill to include a mated pair of doves and woodpeckers that will die when they start their mating ritual by using my gutters - yea, I know it is a federal offense, but my county considers them a 'pest' when they attack my house and does not spell it all out. A .177 pellet rifle with a scope and a suppressor works just fine for 'pests' on my hill...
 @jpk Two solutions I found for the frozen hummingbird feeder problem. One, during winter I make them a nice heavy mix-something like 1:1 of sugar/water. It has a much lower freezing point, and the extra calories probably come in handy. I live at the end of the Gorge, and this works for about 90% of the cold weather we get.
I also have tried a heated water bottle like they sell for rabbits. I could never get it set up so they could drink out of it, but fastening it so that it stays in contact with the feeder reservoir usually keeps it ice free. The problem is you have to keep it plugged in, but doesn't use much electricity.
I enjoy watching the many different birds that come eat the birdseed I put out there, from doves to other little flying things, including a hummingbird (gotta thaw the stuff every day). Have even had falcons, woodpeckers and pheasants (not peasants LOL). Crumbled up Ritz crackers work well too for the little guys, if the Bluejays don't chase the little guys away. Yup, a distinct pecking order exists for the birds. What I don't want in the yard is the 3-4 deer meandering through eating the veggies and flowers, nor Herman, the attack gopher who has set up housekeeping in my front yard.
And I would just like to know where all the birds I have been feeding went to. Can't claim them as dependents if I don't know where they went. LOL
Yuh think? Hey, the temperatures are below freezing and it might rain? Any clues as to whether or not it will also be daylight? Or do I need to check by iPhone? Can't people think for themselves anymore?Â
 @jpk Not anymore Bud, it takes too much energy and they have that free Omama cell phone...
Shucks! I didn't get one................
@boned Thanks. Is that a collect call?
 @jpk It is a direct dial to the Black House and there is still time...
Doom & gloom for anyone that drives a vehicle Wednesday morning!! Most folks in a hurry have no clue how to drive to begin with - hence so many car crashes and auto-body shops in the PDX Area...
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 @Mike Smith Fishbait!! =)
 @badcat  @Mike Smith Not so fast there....I didn't see any anti-smoking, loving my big PERS stuff...this could be a trap.
 @Sundowner Hmmm.... you may be right.  ;-)
I hope we dont get any ice in the morning.
Would you feel better if it were ice cream?
 @jpk Yes,  that would be better
It will be especially bad in one small part of Silverton.
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http://www.katu.com/news/local/Snowfall-in-small-section-of-Silverton-has-neighbors-guessing-187968531.html
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I blame George W. Bush and global warming.
@HenryBowman No no. Global warming is Al Gore's fault. So are sun spots, global cooling (you have to go back a few decades to remember that scare), over draft fees (at least mine), pit bull attacks, weavels in my flour, computer crashes, that grease stain that won't come out of my favorite blouse and a few more.
hurry up global warming
Gosh, KATU could have had better weather people by hiring you bozos instead of Rhonda.
I bet provided the same tools and the fact that they are getting most of thier information from NOAH you could do just as good a job - I just would not be as entertaining but the accuracy woudl be comparable.
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 @Da-Rube Next you'll tell us you really meant NWS, the division of NOAA which provides the forecasts that you were discussing.
I recognized the mistake I made once I posted it - but no edit.
thats fair
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Ever notice - how weathemen use the words; "could, maybe, likely, should and possibly". They dont normally have a clue what they are are talking about. I get up at 5:30 AM - guess we will see then. Last time they said we would have snow on the valley floor - did not happen here in Portland.
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Its the 21st century - and metorolgy is a science - why cant they tell us for fact whats going to happen with in the next 24 hours? I think they play this for ratings.
@Da-Rube Nope, not science; just an art, like all entertainment masquerading as "news".
@Da-Rube And then the politicians want you to think they know what the climate will be like in 100 years. Just boggles the mind the kind of rubbish people will subscribe to
@Da-Rube They use those words because no forecast is 100%. Due to the large number of factors and the chaos that is the worlds weather, there is always risk of error. So, instead of taking the time to explain the science behind forecasting and explaining the risk inherent in forecasts they use words like âcouldâ and âlikelyâ, speaking in laymen terms for those who probably canât understand basic science concepts.
@JTesla Exactly. I wish people would get that, instead of complaining about the weather forecast. Seriously, if you guys could do it better, take a shot at it yourself. This isn't North Dakota, where you can see what's coming a hundred miles away, this is the west coast. Things change hour by hour, micro-climate by micro-climate.
I understand, tehy really dont have a clue - they are guessing at best are not meteroligists at all but rather entertainers. How about some accountablity in thier forcasts - like i said its all about ratings.
I'll be WFH (Working From Home) because I can. It's not worth the risk.
@JohnQ.Public But walking to the nearest hill near your home with a lawn chair, numbers 1-10 on carboard cards for rating the dummies, can be very entertaining and worth the risk, kind of like at the boat ramp!
Sorry for being cynical but it's January in Oregon for christ's sake! Of course there's going to be ice in the morning.
 @noneofyourbizzness Yes, and it's sunny in summer, yet we still talk about it. And rainy most the rest of the year. That's the weather.Â
And freezing rain isn't your garden-variety frost. It can form a think layer of solid ice very quickly. It's a hazard. By your logic hurricanes shouldn't be discussed because well they happen every year the same time a year. Same with November windstorms in the NW.
4 wheel drive doesn't mean 4 wheel stop. Don't be stupid....slow down!
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The person who uses 4 wheel drive then gets into trouble is in twice the trouble because now 4 wheel drive won't get them out of it.
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The funny aspect about brakes and 4 wheel drive is that one wheel (limited slip common in older cars), two wheels (front wheel and more advanced differentials) three wheels (4 wheel limited slip or "all wheel drive"), or 4 wheels (all wheel drive, quattro etc) all have the same number of tires stopping them.
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So your Acura with quattro has the same number of stopping tires (and likely same tractive effort for stopping) as a 1982 Chevette.
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So all you 4 wheelers think about that when youâre driving in 4 wheel drive. You go well, but stop no better.
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Not to put too much of a point on it, but that man who lost his boy in the Columbia learned this terrible lesson.
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