Winter Storm — Southern Willamette Valley, Oregon

2016-12-14 · Southern Willamette Valley, Oregon

Event narrative

Snow, followed by freezing rain. The freezing rain turned into a major ice storm occurred in Eugene and the vicinity with 0.5 to 1.0 inch of ice accumulation observed. There was significant damage to trees and power lines, and fairly widespread power outages across the region. 15,000 people were without power.

Wider weather episode

East winds ahead of an approaching low pressure system brought temperatures down below freezing across the area ahead of the approaching precipitation. This lead to a mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow across the area. While areas farther north saw more of a snow/sleet mix before a changeover to freezing rain then rain, areas in Lane County saw freezing rain for most of this event, causing power outages, damage to trees, and many car accidents around Eugene and Springfield.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 672262. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.