Portland's traditional form of precipitation returned to the area Friday -- rain dampened the city as temperatures hovered in the mid 30s.

Photo by Amber Mossman

Kids playing in Hillsboro.

Freezing rain fell on the West side of the Metro area briefly Friday morning before temperatures inched up, said KGW meteorologist Dave Salesky.

High temperatures Friday could reach the middle 40s, he said. Overnight lows will stay just above freezing.

Much of the city's sidewalks were already a naked grey by Thursday, when temperatures warmed enough to melt a lot of neighborhood snow.

Portland city crews said they would start street sweeping as early as Friday to pick up the sand and gravel they applied this week.

The city estimates that 75 percent of the sand and gravel applied to streets during inclement weather is recovered, cleaned, recycled, and re-used.

Approximately 10,000 gallons of anti-icing chemical were applied last weekend to prepare for what was expected to be a winter event with minimal snow. Since Tuesday, 31,850 gallons of chemical compounds were applied and 2,500 cubic yards of sand and gravel were spread over roadways.

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The city uses environmentally friendly anti-icing chemicals, mostly calcium magnesium acetate, according to Dakota Inyoswan, spokesman for the City of Portland's Office of Transportation.

Though temperatures are expected to stay above freezing in low elevations through Thursday night, higher elevations remain a challenge in the West Hills and the east side, where snow and ice accumulation has persisted. The city's maintenence crews will work 12-hour shifts until 7 a.m. Friday.

"Major arterials and transit routes are in good condition. A lot of neighborhood side streets still have snow and ice, although warmer temperatures should help clear them into the weekend," Inyoswan said.

One road closure was still in effect -- SE 72nd Avenue between Hawthorne and Harrison -- as crews wait for packed ice to break up so that they can plow the road. All other known closed roads have been re-opened.

Warmer temperatures combined with increased snow plowing helped clear side roads in the Portland and Vancouver Metro areas Thursday, releasing most residents from the cocoon of their homes and neighborhoods.

Some schools, including Clackamas and Lake Oswego, remained closed Thursday due to snow accumulations while others like the Reynolds School District on the east side just delayed their opening for two hours.

Two particularly problematic southwest Portland streets, SW Hamilton east of SW Corbett and SW View Point Terrace south of SW Hamilton, reopened by Thursday afternoon.

Another big sign conditions were improving: TriMet officials decided to take chains off all the buses just before 8:30 a.m. Thursday. And by noon, all the buses had returned to their normal routes.

Meteorologists said conditions will continue to improve.

KGW Chief Meteorologist Matt Zaffino said a new, weak storm system was expected to move into the area by Thursday night or Friday morning.

“By Friday night it should be all light rain. The weekend looks dry with gradually warming temperatures,” he said.

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Thursday was a big difference from the day before; on Wednesday morning, some roads re-froze overnight and freezing fog in the morning also complicated commutes, following a surprisingly strong snowstorm that blanketed the area Tuesday.

AP photo

Good Samaritans are shown pushing a vehicle along an icy street in Portland on Tuesday.

Crews worked all night to plow and spread de-icer on interstates and highways, but officials said side roads were a lower priority, so that's where much of the slippery snow and ice remained Wednesday morning, making travel through neighborhoods difficult.

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Tuesday was a good day for Oregonians to stay home, with slippery roads causing car crashes throughout Western Oregon and bitter cold dropping temperatures toward zero in Eastern Oregon.

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From Portland to Medford, police and transportation officials reported scores of accidents Tuesday as drivers tried to navigate roads made treacherous by freezing rain and snow.

"Between Cottage Grove and Albany, I-5 was literally a skating rink," said Joe Harwood, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. "We had trucks jack-knifed, more than a dozen wrecks, people going off the road, slamming into guard rails, hitting other vehicles."

Motor vehicles weren't the only mode of transportation to have problems Tuesday. Portland-area hospitals reported about three dozen injuries from sledding.

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Meanwhile, multiple schools closed, the Oregon Legislature canceled its work and many businesses let their employees stay home or leave the office early.

In Eastern Oregon, the mercury barely got over zero, if at all.

"Just plain cold," is what Diann Coonfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton, said of Tuesday's lows. Hermiston's temperature was 4 degrees.

Photo from kgw.com viewer

A pickup truck driver appears to be tyring to help tow a Budweiser truck out of the snow.

It was even colder in Seneca, between John Day and Burns. The temperature there fell to 4 below.

Along the coast, freezing rain added to the troubles of Tillamook County, which has endured snows, floods and hurricane-force winds since November.

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"We've decided the only thing we haven't seen is locusts," said Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson said.

Milder and wetter conditions were forecast for the weekend.