Conditions were fair and dry but frigid Friday, due to a chilling air mass keeping a strong grip on Oregon and Washington.

By Jill Scales

Peyton and Dylan admire their snowman in McMinnville, Ore.

Friday brought the coldest temperatures since last February to the Portland and Vancouver Metro areas and beyond, said KGW meteorologist Dave Salesky.

There were few icy patches, mostly in shaded areas. Cold conditions are expected to continue through the weekend and most of next week.

"There's a teeny, teeny risk of [snow] flurries tomorrow night," Salesky said Friday. By next Thursday, he expects temperatures to return to the low 40s, which is about average for this time of year.

Jerry Marshall, director of the Men’s Ministry at the Portland Rescue Mission, said it will be a place of refuge for the homeless in the chilling cold temperatures.

“We are extremely sensitive to the issues the cold weather brings… We have expanded our shelter capacity and keep plenty of blankets available for people in need,” he explained.

The winter months are often the hardest for homeless people in the Portland area. Cold wet nights often lead to respiratory ailments and infections. Nightly shelter gives homeless people a chance to get out of the elements and recharge their bodies with a warm meal and a dry bed.

Storm brought snow, ice Thursday

The last of the snow flurries wafted out of the region by Thursday afternoon, giving way to sunny skies and quickly plunging temperatures.

Snow coated roads in the Portland and Vancouver Metro areas Thursday morning, causing cars to slide off roadways and forcing the closure of many schools.

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Both the east and west sides of Multnomah County received snow showers with heavier snow and more ice in areas like Gresham, Troutdale and Clackamas and even bigger dumps along the Oregon Coast.

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Police said semi-trucks had twice spun out in the mountainous stretches of Interstate 5 in southwestern Oregon, temporarily blocking traffic.

Local police officers kept busy dealing with cars that had spun out or slid into ditches.

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"The problem seems to be that people are on the heavily traveled roads and see they are generally not that bad," said Capt. Aaron Ashbaugh of the Forest Grove Police Department. "But then run into an occasional patch of ice that causes them to lose it."

AP photo/The World, Lou Sennick

Addison Alford, 8, slides sideways down a hill Thursday morning in Coos Bay, Ore.

Along Oregon Coast, some sandy beaches were even covered with white when residents woke.

Heading outside Portland toward Eugene, drivers encountered a great deal of black ice, according to reports from state troopers who said dangerous conditions stretched from Cottage Grove through Albany and Springfield.

“Right now, it is literally a skating rink," OSP/Springfield Area Commander Lt. Bloom said early Thursday. “Troopers from the Salem area are also responding to ice related crashes.  We're urging motorists to avoid travel this morning unless it is absolutely necessary.”

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The National Weather Service said clear, cold weather in much of Oregon was expected to follow the snow. Temperatures Thursday night were expected in the single digits in much of Central and Eastern Oregon, the teens in southwestern Oregon and the central Willamette Valley, the teens and 20s along the coast, and about 20 in the Portland area.