REGION
Saturday, December 24, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Subzero Seneca among coldest places in U.S.
By RYLAN BOGGS
EO Media Group
Contributed photo/Winnie Browning
Seneca was the coldest place in the contiguous United
States 20 nights between July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016.
Only Yellowstone Park in Wyoming and Bodie State Park in
California were colder more nights.
cold,” which is tolerable.
He said the coldest
temperature he has experienced
in Seneca is -34, which he
jokingly attributed to global
warming.
Seneca and Ukiah tied for
the state record for coldest
recorded temperature, -54
Fahrenheit, in February 1933,
according to the National
Weather Service.
“I remember hanging my
little brother’s diapers on the
line, and they would freeze
before I could get them hung
up,” 86-year-old Seneca resi-
dent Leonard Rider said.
He said, as a child, he lived
in half a boxcar with no water
and no power for several years.
He remembered ice skating
with his family despite subzero
temperatures.
“We didn’t pay much atten-
tion to it really,” he said.
Turner left California for
Seneca after he retired and,
despite the cold weather, likes
the slow pace of life in Grant
County.
“It’s too nice here,” he said.
“I don’t think I could take Cali-
fornia again.”
Trooper warns drivers to
slow down on slick roads
Snowplow crashes after
hitting ice on I-84
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Icy conditions Friday
morning on state roads near
Hermiston contributed to
toppling a snow plow and
a crash that injured two
people.
Oregon State Police
trooper John Lombardi said
the Oregon Department of
Transportation plow crashed
around 7:30 a.m. when it
hit a patch of ice on the
eastbound side of Interstate
84 near milepost 175. The
driver lost control, Lombardi
said, and the large vehicle
rolled to one side, slid to the
median and rolled onto its
top.
The plow was heavy, he
said, with a large snow blade
on the front and hauling
a full load of gravel. The
driver, though, got out and
was uninjured. State road
workers removed the plow
by noon or so.
In a separate crash, two
Utah residents were injured
in a crash at 9:28 a.m. on the
westbound side of Interstate
82 near mile post 6.
Lombardi said a commer-
cial tow truck was parked
there from the night before
when a Toyota Highlander
slammed into the rear of the
truck. Ambulances took the
victims to Good Shepherd
East Oregonian
Pregnancy Care Services’
Hermiston location is getting
a new home.
On Jan. 3 the service will
move from its location at the
Cornerstone Plaza to 105
SW Second Street next to
Bi-Mart. The public can take
a tour of the new location
during a ribbon cutting on
Jan. 12 at noon.
Director Debbie Cissna
said the benefi t of the move
is that the new space is more
centrally located.
“It’s more accessible, it’s
closer to the high school,
there’s more foot traffi c,”
she said.
Cissna said the building is
slightly smaller, but still has
enough space for “everything
we need.”
Pregnancy Care Services
offers education about options
available in an unexpected
pregnancy, mentoring, peer
counseling, pregnancy tests,
parenting classes, referrals to
resources, maternal supplies
and abstinence education.
y River
John Da
John Day
26
26
Canyon City
S T R AW
BERR
Y
MO
Bear Valley, one of
the coldest places in
the contiguous U.S.
Seneca was the coldest place in the
contiguous United States 20 nights from
July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016. Only
Yellowstone Park in Wyoming and Bodie
State Park in California had more nights in
which either was the coldest.
At an elevation of more than 4,600 feet,
Seneca is situated in the lowest portion of
Bear Valley. Cold air from the surrounding
hills settles in the valley at night, leading to
temperatures up to 20 degrees colder than
John Day 20 miles to the north.
395
UN
TA
I
NS
For
R oad
15
63
At 4,666 feet
above sea level,
Seneca is in the
lowest portion
of Bear Valley.
395
F or e
st
Ro ad 16
N
Seneca
2 miles
Lowest recorded temperatures in Seneca by month, 1933-2006
20 Degrees Fahrenheit
19
17
14
11
10
5
5
0
-10
A state record
-20
Seneca tied with Ukiah for the
coldest recorded low temperature
in Oregon on Feb. 10, 1933.
-25
-30
-11
-31
Sources: Western Regional Climate
Center; National Weather Service,
NOAA; EO Media Group research
-40
-43
-50
-48
Sean Hart and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
-54
-60
Jan. 26, Feb. 10, March 5, April 9, May 1, June 4, July 8, Aug. 24, Sept. 30, Oct. 31, Nov. 15, Dec. 23,
1957
1933
1955
1952
1953
1962
1959
1992
1954
2002
1955
1983
BRIEFLY
Ski bus to cruise to Anthony Pendleton arts center offers
Lakes Resort for a day
guitar classes for kids
HERMISTON — Catch a ride to Anthony
Lakes Resort for a day of skiing or boarding
through Hermiston Parks & Recreation.
The Ski & Snowboard Days are Jan. 7,
21 and Feb. 4 and 18. The cost is $30 per
ride or $100 for all four dates. In addition,
discount lift tickets are available for $17
or $12 for the bunny hill. Lift tickets are
free for ages 3-6 and those 70-and-older.
Discount equipment rentals are $17.
The bus ride is open to ates 3 and up, but
those 13-and-younger must be accompanied
by an adult.
The school bus will depart at 6 a.m. from
Hermiston City Hall, 180 N.E. Second St.
The anticipated return time is 7 p.m.
For more information or to register, call
541-667-5018 or stop by the parks offi ce.
PENDLETON — A solid introduction
to guitar covering chords, rhythm and
music reading is featured in a class at
Pendleton Center for the Arts.
Open to ages 8-12, the class will
provide a foundation for students to go
on to play all styles of music — from
rock to classical to folk. It’s a great
class to get kids started in music and for
students who already have experience
playing.
The sessions begin Monday, Jan. 9
from 5-6 p.m. at the arts center, 214 N.
Main St., Pendleton. The cost is $70-$75.
There is a member discount.
For more information or to register,
contact info@pendletonarts.org, 541-278-
9201 or visit www.pendletonarts.org.
Photo contributed by John Ballard
A snowplow rolled Friday morning near milepost 175
on Interstate 84 west of Hermiston.
Medical Center, Hermiston.
Wintry roads contributed
to the crash.
“Please,”
Lombardi
urged drivers, “slow down
during these kinds of road
conditions.”
Slush and ice on I-84 near
Pendleton also played a part
in two semi crashes.
Senior trooper Dan
Chichester said one big
rig was westbound when
it wiped out near milepost
197, crossed the median and
didn’t stop until it was on the
eastbound side. The other
semi wrecked near milepost
192, also westbound, and the
driver went to the hospital.
Chichester also said the
calls for emergency services
let up when the state shut
down long sections of I-84
in Eastern Oregon due to
the dangerous driving condi-
tions.
For road closure informa-
tion, visit tripcheck.com or
call the following:
5-1-1 for free within
Oregon;
1-800-977-6368 for free
within Oregon;
and
503-588-2941
outside of Oregon.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
Giving the Gi� of
HERMISTON
Pregnancy
Care Services
moving Jan. 3
Mt. Vernon
t
es
Already tied for the record of
the coldest recorded tempera-
ture in Oregon, the small town
of Seneca can now boast it is
one of the coldest places in the
United States.
Between July 1, 2015, and
June 30, 2016, Seneca was the
coldest place in the contiguous
United States on 20 different
nights, according to Dennis
Hull, a meteorologist for the
National Weather Service in
Pendleton. Only the Yellow-
stone Park area of Wyoming
and Bodie State Park in Cali-
fornia had more nights in which
either were coldest, he said.
At an elevation of 4,666 feet,
Seneca is situated in the lowest
part of Bear Valley — a bowl
in the mountains in southern
Grant County — which leads
to the frigid temperatures, Hull
said.
“Cold
air
from
the
surrounding hills settles and
deepens in the valley during
the night,” he said. “On some
of the coldest mornings, the
temperature is 15 to 20 degrees
lower than ... John Day located
just 20 miles to the north.”
The locals, however, don’t
seem to mind the cold weather.
“When you get out, you
bundle up,” 82-year-old Bob
Turner said, adding it is a “dry
Record cold
in Seneca
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