PORTLAND, Ore. -- Drivers on Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge were dealing with dangerous patches of black ice, some so severe that the state decided to close a four-mile section of the busy roadway for a brief period Monday morning.
The Oregon Department of Transportation closed I-84 between mileposts 76 and 80 around 6 a.m. It reopened after sanding trucks arrived.
ODOT officials said numerous crashes had been reported in "extremely icy" conditions. Over the weekend, I-84 was closed from Troutdale to Hood River after 12 accidents were reported in less than an hour on Saturday.
The interstate reopened Sunday after temperatures warmed, melting ice on the roadway. More: Alarming hour of accidents
Washington state had closed SR-14 to semis due to icy conditions but lifted that restriction at noon Sunday.
A jacknifed semi temporarily closed Oregon Hwy 18, the Sheridan-Willamina Highway, at milepost 25 but all lanes were reopened around 11:30 a.m.
For the latest updates go to ODOT TripCheck
Snow accumulation in metro Portland never happened as most Northwest meteorologists had expected, and the high temperature in Portland hit 40 on Sunday. Read the latest from the KGW First Alert Storm Team.
Freezing rain was forecast in the Cascade foothills below the 4,000 foot level until Sunday afternoon, when temperatures across NW Oregon and SW Washington were expected to warm, KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill said. A new front will push showers back into the Portland area Monday evening. Parts of the coast may get an inch of rain and the Cascades may get a foot of snow, he said.
The National Weather Service downgraded most Winter Storm Warnings to advisories, which remained in effect throughout the weekend.
Check: Traffic | TriMet | C-Tran
Drive with caution
A 55-mile stretch of Hwy 34 was closed overnight from the Oregon Coast to Philomath due to icy conditions but no one was injured, according to ODOT.
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Several collisions and accidents were reported on I-5 in the Salem area due to ice; however, Marion County and Salem city officials reported that area roads were sanded in the event of major accumulation.
Warm-up & rain follow week of record cold
The weekend wallop of winter came after a week of record low temperatures across NW Oregon.
Low temperature records fell almost daily in Portland, with most mornings beginning in the teens. East of Portland, Gorge and foothill communities dealt with gale-force winds and below-zero conditions most of the week.
More: Radar | Conditions | Forecast
During the ongoing cold snap, power outages have continued to affect the Metro area. Portland General Electric crews have been kept busy, with pockets of Portland losing power here and there, but electric usage peaked and never neared maximum capacity as it did during the 2008 severe winter weather event. Real-time PGE outages were accessible online.
Temperatures in Portland dropped to a frigid low of 14 degrees Thursday morning at the Portland International Airport, dipping below the previous record low of 16 set back in 1972.
Burst pipes flooded dozens of homes across metro Portland, according to Fire & Rescue, as subfreezing temperatures took their toll. Pulmbers told KGW that they were responding to many distressed and foreclosed homes with pipe problems because the heat had been turned off. MORE: Tips on protecting your pipes
MORE: School/weather closures
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A 7-day forecast called for temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s starting Sunday.
