06:37 PM PST on Monday, December 29, 2003

By ABE ESTIMADA, JIM PARKER and ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff

The Willamette Valley could jump from snowy depths into treacherous ice as overnight temperatures drop into the low-20s, setting up what could be a dangerous morning commute on Tuesday.

Already early Monday evening, patches of black ice were reported in East Multnomah County, said KGW meteorologist Dave Salesky. As of 6 p.m., the mercury had slid to 28 degrees in Sandy, Oregon. Officials with the Sandy Fire District recommended that motorists avoid all east county roads.

"It's not a question of if it's going to get down below freezing or not, the question is how cold is it going to get," said Salesky.

“The conditions are very hazardous and even despite the fact that you have chains and a heavy vehicle, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to stay on the road," said Mary Volm, spokeswoman for the city of Portland Office of Transportation.

Oregon Department of Transportation crews were preparing for the worst. Between 50 and 75 ODOT personnel were ready to move out and target potential problem areas, said spokesman Shawn Uhlman.

Those problem spots could be along Highway 26 at the top of the Sylvan Hills, the hardest hit area in Portland. ODOT plans on laying down sand on heavily-traveled roads that are frozen.

If the pavement is dry, ODOT will deploy de-icing agent first on bridges, on-ramps and off-ramps that could freeze overnight before moving to other areas, Uhlman said. De-icing chemicals won’t work on wet roads.

“We’re going to continue to have all our forces out on the roads and do everything we can,” Uhlman said.

Much of the snow fell on the west side of the Willamette River in Portland, turning the morning commute into a slippery sledding track along the Sunset Highway at the top of Sylvan Hills.

Cars spun into roadsides at the top of the heavily-traveled freeway during the pre-dawn hours, while other commuters traversed slushy side streets.

A Pacific storm system trudging in a southeast direction dragged frigid air from the Columbia River, causing snow to fall throughout the Willamette Valley, Sussman said.

But before it passed to the east side of the Cascades on Monday morning, the storm dropped up to four inches of snow fell on the West Hills and other hilltops around the Portland-Vancouver area, Sussman said.

The hardest hit metro area in the Willamette Valley was Salem, which saw between four and six inches of snow on the ground. In Dallas west of Salem, residents there reported snow depths of up to 10 inches.

“Salem got a more direct blow from the storm than we did,” Sussman said.

Much of the snow ended by 9:30 a.m. in the Portland-Vancouver area and a snow advisory that was issued Sunday night by the National Weather Service was lifted by late Monday morning.

Tri-Met bus service was disrupted throughout the Portland area.

“Some buses serving the SW hills and surrounding areas are on snow routes this morning,” said Tri-Met’s Bruce Solberg. “Bus riders in the area should expect minor delays because buses have chains on their tires. Riders heading to Marquam Hill and the Oregon City hill areas will transfer to buses with chains.”

A few routes, like 157- Happy Valley, were cancelled due to the snow.

MAX train service, though, was unaffected. Solberg said it remained on a regular schedule.

In Clackamas County, all ten plows and three sanders were on the roads Monday morning. When snow levels dipped to 300 feet in Clackamas County, lower elevations there saw about one inch of snow and up to 8 inches of snow in the Molalla foothills, county officials said.

Several inches of snow fell during the weekend in the Coast Range, the Columbia Gorge and the foothills of the Cascades. Above 2,500 feet, mountain areas received at least six inches.

"Some places made the cut. Some places didn't," Sussman said.

A driver attempts to push his car out of a jam in the Sylvan Hills area of Portland. (KGW Photo)

So much snow had fallen at the Siskiyou Summit as of Monday morning that Oregon State Patrol troopers said they had to shut down I-5 from the summit to Shasta, Calif. The troopers reported blizzard conditions and multiple accidents.