I'll take some Ice with my Water

Bitter winds flowing down from Canada and funneling though the Columbia Gorge are colliding with a warm, rainy front from Southern California and a second rainy front off the Pacific near Vancouver, BC. A major snow and freezing rain event has begun in southern Oregon and is moving north and east across the state.

I stayed the night in Sandy, Oregon with a friend, and then at 6:30 am this morning, I headed out to beat the storm home. In Troutdale, Oregon I got onto the freeway that travels through the Columbia Gorge. Troutdale is at the western end where the gorge enters the Willamette Valley. The winds escape the funnel of the gorge and the gusts were strong, about 40 miles an hour. The first 1/3 of my drive required tight control and vigilance to stay in my lane. Fortunately there was little traffic at that time of the morning. 

It was 20F/-6C when I left and the temps kept dropping as I drove east. I made a brief stop in Lyle, Washington to take these photos where the Klickitat River flows into the Columbia. I made it home a few minutes before the snow started and it was 7F/-13C. It has now warmed a few degrees and the snow is piling up. Glad to be safe and home!