News The National Weather Service downgraded its forecast from a winter storm watch to a winter weather advisory Thursday afternoon.
The advisory begins at 1 a.m. on Friday, and continues through 4 a.m. Saturday. Forecasters are predicting snow and ice.
Rain and freezing rain, which began falling in the early evening on Thursday, will continue overnight and into Friday. Ice accumulations in most areas are expected to be less than one-tenth of an inch. However, up to one-quarter of an inch of ice may occur east of Interstate 205, and closer to the Columbia River Gorge.
“Ice could lead to dangerous driving conditions, particularly for the Friday morning commute,” the advisory states. “Areas of tree damage and power outages will be possible late Friday when ice accumulations will be at their highest magnitude.”
A wind advisory continues through 4 a.m. Friday. Winds coming from the east will be 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 55 mph. Wind strength will decrease by Friday afternoon.
