Weathering the Storm of Oregon Winter

Trafton B.

February 25, 2011 - 12:00 AM

If there's one thing I've learned after experiencing the past four Pacific Northwest winters, it's that the weather is predictably unpredictable. There are times when the elements just seam confused. For example right now the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the beautiful Saturday morning sky, yet it's 24°F outside, which means that I can only appreciate the sunshine if I'm wearing a down jacket and the wind isn't blowing in my face. Tantalizing. Let me give you a brief run down of the past few days worth of meteorological events.

Thursday: Snow

A similar pattern repeats itself every year during the wintertime. It will be cold throughout November and December, and we'll slowly become readjusted to the familiar Oregon rain. Then somewhere near the end of January the sun will start peaking out from behind the clouds and everyone will get excited because that obviously means spring is just around the corner. WRONG! All of a sudden mother nature shuts the doors on spring and pushes you back into the cold and rain for another month. It's as if Oregon refuses to head the orders of Punxsutawney Phil and demands that winter linger as long as possible.

The weather report usually threatens the coming of a light snow in the Willamette Valley sometime in February, but we usually shrug it off because it's common knowledge that you can't trust the weather report past 24 hours; it's just too unpredictable. This year, however, the joke was on us as I woke up Thursday morning to a winter wonderland in Eugene. Check out the view from my roof in the photo above. And it didn't stop there.

The snow and sleet continued well into the afternoon on Thursday. I remember walking from the EMU to Lillis around noon and almost being blown off the sidewalk by a flurry of fresh powder. Most of the ground cover had melted away by the time I got of work at 5:00 PM, but the cold lingered through the night.

Friday: Freezing Wind

Thursday night might have the coldest we've had in a long while. Definitely not good day to be riding a bicycle after the sun went down. Come to think of it, my Friday morning ride to campus at 8:00AM wasn't too pleasant either. I've slept in sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a beanie for the past two nights. My roommates and I have been cranking the space heaters throughout the house since Friday afternoon, and the weather deterred most of us from going anywhere last night.

Saturday: Sunshine

Like I said, it's a sunny, yet brisk Saturday morning. I'd like to be outside to enjoy it, but I'm also perfectly content sitting at my desk with a heater at my feet. Plus, none of my roommates are awake yet so I don't really have anyone to go outside with. The forecast is predicting heavy rains starting on Sunday and continuing into next week, but we'll see if that actually comes true. My weather forecasts are about as accurate any other source in the Northwest, so I'm hoping for sunny and 75° next week.