Winter storm warning issued for Thursday in southwestern Washington, western Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning Thursday for much of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.


The service says strong winds starting Wednesday will be followed by an unusually strong winter storm Thursday morning with mixed precipitation in the greater Portland and Vancouver, Washington, areas.

Officials say snow will start falling late Thursday morning or early afternoon and then change to freezing rain in the coastal mountains and inland areas. Freezing rain is predicted to continue inland until midnight and especially near the Columbia River Gorge with up to a quarter inch of ice possible.

The weather service says generally from 2 to 4 inches of snow could accumulate before changing over to ice/freezing rain.



In the greater Seattle area, a winter weather advisory for up to 3 inches of snow in the lowlands has been issued from Thursday afternoon through Friday morning.