The weather is turning ugly in Portland…freezing rain, ice storms, and possible snow. Here are some great photos of last year’s snow storm in Portland. Typical Portlanders:
So far the weather prediction is snow tonight and tomorrow and then the temperature should rise. I don’t think I need to panic quite yet about being stranded in the snow for a week.
Of course all anyone can talk about at work today is the weather! Snow! Ice! Panic! Portland doesn’t get much snow historically anyways…2 years ago we had the biggest snow storm we’d had in probably a decade.
Snowmaggedon!
I’d been dating Michael for about 8 months or so by that time. I’d just started working at my current job and the Snowpocalypse hit when we weren’t expecting it. I’d stayed at Michael’s house Saturday night and woke up Sunday to my car covered in snow. There was no way I could get it out either.
My Old Car Buried in Snow
It’s hard to tell, but that’s my car in the lower left corned of the photo. 😉
“Snowfall for Dec. 2008 totaled 18.9 inches. December also marked the second-snowiest month in Portland’s recorded history, bested only by the remarkable 41 inches of snow that fell on the Rose City in January, 1950.”
I ended up being stranded at Michael’s house for an entire week. The snow just kept coming down! It was actually a really fun, romantic time in our relationship.
That blue head behind Michael is his roommate Shoe photobombing us. 😉
Luckily my neighbor at my apartment had a key and could get into my apartment to feed the kitties and make sure they were okay. I was so worried about being away from them all week.
I spent the week hanging out with Michael and his roommate, Shoe. We had a fire in the fireplace, watched hours of TV and movies and eventually ventured into the snow to walk to the store for food (and alcohol).
It was fun having a week off from work because of snow. 5 days later, I made it back to my apartment (the drive home was terrifying) and was reunited with my kitties.
Fat Kitty loves to explore in the snow. He was so cute playing. 🙂
Part of me hopes we have a repeat of the Snowmaggedon this year…just so I can stay home with Michael and the kitties with a roaring fire and lots of movies. Of course, the practical me says “I’ve got too much shit to do this week! No snow!”
Of course if I get snowed in, that’s plenty of time to bake and try more recipes from my new cookbook. If you’re catching up on the weekend reading, be sure to read my post about the West African Cashew Soup. It was freakin’ amazing! It’s a shame Michael had the stomach flu all weekend and couldn’t eat it. 🙁 It’s definitely a winner.
QUESTION: Do you get much snow where you live? And does your city handle the weather well?
kalin
ahh that snow storm was crazy-i was in ridgefield (washington) when it started, and we got to drive (very very slowly!) back home… it almost left me stranded for christmas-the highway to my parent’s was closed, there were no planes, trains, or buses getting there. i ended up on a tinnny (9 seat!) plane, that took me to eastern oregon, where my brothers drove and got me-it was crazy!
i love snow, but i hate how portland can’t function in it.
Lisa Eirene
I’m with you…we went to Bend last winter for vacation and the city handled snow so well. ALL the roads were cleared. Snow was piled up but none of the roads actually had any snow or ice on them. Quite the change from Portland.
Lisa
holy moly – those cyclists are hard core!!!
Lisa Eirene
That’s Portland for you!
Lori (Finding Radiance)
Haha – that snow looks typical for us! We get a good chunk of snow up here. The most I remember at one time was 3 feet. By mid winter, our driveway usually looks like a tobaggan run because there is nowhere for the snow to go but to the sides!
Lisa Eirene
Wow! Can you drive in it?
Becky
I live in Salt Lake City, and we get a lot of snow. Because we are used to it, we handle it REALLY well (except for our drivers, perhaps). They usually have the roads plowed within an hour and work never gets shut down. I wish I could have a snow week! That would be amazing!
Lisa Eirene
Portland panics and shuts down. lol
Katie J
Only snowed once here about 40 years ago 😉
(Cali baby!)
Jennifer is Always Sick
I live in the desert, so no snow. However, I used to live in New England, and I don’t think I ever saw anyone on a bicycle in the snow.
The snow was REALLY BAD there too. Seriously. It was horrible. I’m so much happier in the desert. 🙂
Ayla
We also don’t get much snow here (absolute west coast of BC) but 2 years ago we had our worst snow storm in years too! I loved it. 😀 We finally got snow today and as usual, I’m loving it! Apparently this year BC is supposed to get hit with the worst winter we’ve had in 55 years.. which should be interesting because the one we had 2 years ago was BAD. Guess I better start stocking up on food because I may not be leaving my house for a couple weeks. 😉
Lisa Eirene
That sounds kinda nice to me!
Ashlee (ashandlewplus2.com)
We live in Tennessee so if it starts to snow you better go home or you will get run over by other drivers. My husband and I love snowboarding so we are always driving places where it snows so we can board so we are used to it. I think the best place we have been where they take care of the snow is Park City Utah. We are heading to Whistler in a few weeks we will see how Canada does
Ashlee
Lisa Eirene
I haven’t been to Whistler but I’d LOVE to visit!
shelby @ eatdrinkrun
Yikes! Be careful out there!
I have lived in all sorts of snowy places, but I’m a Tacoma girl at heart, so I totally get living in an area that doesn’t handle snow well. And now that I’m in NC, I’m sure it’ll be the same way. (Although – don’t hate me – it was 75* and sunny here today!)
Keeping my fingers crossed that everything gets cleaned up out there, as my mom and her husband are supposed to fly from SEA to visit us tomorrow night. :/
Lisa Eirene
It looks like Seattle/Tacoma was hit pretty hard today. I haven’t checked their forecast since this afternoon though. I hope your family has safe travels!
Becca
I’m in the UK, and as we’re prone to such moderate weather, any extremes – heat, snow, rain – cause the country to completely fall apart!
I learnt recently that Portland has the highest concentration of strip clubs in any city in America. I guess with that snow, people need something warm to snuggle up to! 😉
Lisa Eirene
I had not heard that fact, but it does not surprise me. 🙂
Rae
I live in Ottawa (Canada) where we get tons of snow and plenty of icy driving conditions. It’s easy to have a -30 degrees (celcius!)- so probably -22 or -23F….it’s definitely cold and we aren’t even the coldest or snowiest place! A little over 10 years ago I was living outisde of Montreal and we had an ice storm and we were without power for 18 days! It was crazy.
But I’ve never not had a white Christmas and I can’t imagine not waking up to snow everywhere!
Lisa Eirene
Wow I cannot even imagine that kind of cold!!