NEWS
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2021
Cold temps turn Eastern Oregon rain into snow
By ANTONIO SIERRA
Hermiston Herald
Just a day before the cal-
endar recognized the first
day of winter, many com-
munities in Eastern Ore-
gon saw their first signifi-
cant snowstorm of the cold
weather season.
Cold temperatures turned
rain into snow Sunday night,
Dec. 20, and the snow con-
tinued into the morning
of Dec. 21. The National
Weather Service issued a
winter weather advisory
through 3 p.m. that day.
Every region of Uma-
tilla County saw significant
snowfall through the morn-
ing. Joe Solomon, a mete-
orologist with the weather
service, said Pendleton
received 1-3 inches of snow,
Hermiston 2-5 inches and
the Milton-Freewater and
Walla Walla areas about 2
inches of snow.
Solomon explained what
factors turned a standard
rain storm into something
much icier.
“There was a stalled cold
front that runs across north-
ern Oregon to southern
Washington with a steady
stream of moisture mov-
ing along that front,” he
said. “Cold air north of that
front has been slowly filter-
ing in all the way down into
north-central Oregon.”
Most
area
schools
already started their winter
break, giving students some
snow to play with on their
first official day off. The
Pendleton School District
wasn’t set to break for the
holiday season until Dec.
22, but the district canceled
school the morning of Dec.
20. Blue Mountain Com-
munity College eventually
joined its K-12 peers in can-
celing in-person classes on
all of its campuses.
Snow and ice also can
wreak havoc on local infra-
structure, and it took a brief
toll on Hermiston elec-
tric customers. In an email,
Steve Meyers, the member
services administrator for
the Umatilla Electric Coop-
erative, wrote that accumu-
lated snow caused a tree
limb to fall into a power
line, cutting off power to
987 UEC and Hermiston
Energy Services customers
for about an hour during the
morning.
Snowstorms also mean
road closures on Interstate
84 and other state roads, just
as residents begin traveling
to visit friends and family
for the holiday season. The
westbound lanes on Inter-
state 84 were briefly closed
between mileposts 193 and
374, and Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation
spokesperson Tom Strand-
berg said he expects more in
the coming days.
Strandberg said the most
frequent cause of road clo-
sures are drivers losing con-
trol of their vehicles and he
urged local drivers to travel
cautiously when navigating
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Andrew Jimenez, and his daughter Juilet, 2, sled down a hill Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, at Sunset Elementary School in Hermiston.
Eastern Oregon’s roads.
“Everybody needs to be
slowing down and drive
according to conditions,” he
said.
When traveling during the
holiday season, Strandberg
said part of their prepara-
tion process should involve
checking road conditions on
ODOT’s Trip Check web-
site. Strandberg said motor-
ists should check images of
Interstate 84 to see if there
is snow and ice on the por-
tions they will be traveling
on. He said travelers should
not be fooled if they see a
clear stretch of road on the
website’s camera because it
may be sandwiched between
long stretches of freeways
covered with snow and ice.
Strandberg
recom-
mended drivers store food,
water, blankets and cell-
phone chargers just in case
they get stuck during a road
closure.
Motorists who see long
stretches of bad driving con-
ditions should stay home
if at all possible, he said,
and he encouraged driv-
ers on I-84 to be very care-
ful when looking for detours
if there are closures or bad
conditions.
“Don’t blindly follow
GPS detour routes,” he said.
Strandberg said many
are county roads not as well
maintained as I-84. He also
warned drivers to be on alert
for motorists who may be
operating carelessly.
“They should be mindful
that a lot of drivers are anx-
ious and in a hurry,” he said.
He also urged motor-
ists to be patient if they get
behind snowplows and do
not attempt to pass them. He
Wishing
Everyone a Very
Happy Holiday
and for a Bright
New Year!
said snowplow operators are
aware of traffic behind them.
“They will pull over,” he
said.
And Strandberg said
drivers should stay at least
four car lengths behind
snowplows to avoid being
hit by the snow and rocks
they kick up.
While weather conditions
are expected to warm up
and dry out midweek, Sol-
omon said another system
is approaching the region at
the end of the week. While
it should mostly result in a
mix of rain and snow in the
lower elevations, it could
create hazardous condi-
tions for drivers traveling
through the Blue Mountain
or Cascades.
— Reporter Dick Mason
with The Observer in La
Grande contributed to
this article.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Kurt Clayson rolls a snowball Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, at Sunset Elementary School in Hermiston.
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