Ice Storm, Central Coast Range of W Oregon
- When
- February 3, 1:00 PM PST to February 5, 1:00 PM PST
- Where
- Central Coast Range of W Oregon forecast zone
Ice Storm in Oregon, February 3 to 5, 1996
A warm front overiding cold air trapped in western Oregon valleys and the Columbia Gorge produced an ice storm causing widespread disruption of traffic and power outages in the Willamette Valley and Coast Range valleys. Freezing rain began over the Willamette Valley during the afternoon of February 3 and continued throughout the night and into the next day.
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.
A warm front overiding cold air trapped in western Oregon valleys and the Columbia Gorge produced an ice storm causing widespread disruption of traffic and power outages in the Willamette Valley and Coast Range valleys. Freezing rain began over the Willamette Valley during the afternoon of February 3 and continued throughout the night and into the next day. Numerous traffic accidents were reported including a 100 car minor damage pileup near Salem. One fatality occurred when a car lost control on the ice, slid off the road and flipped over near Lincoln City. By the afternoon of February 4th, warm air behind the front had ended the icy conditions south of the Portland area, however continued cold air flowing through the Columbia Gorge kept the extreme Northern Willamette Valley glazed with ice until the afternoon of February 5th.
Event by event
2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice Storm, Northern Oregon Coast
- When
- February 3, 1:00 PM PST to February 5, 1:00 PM PST
- Where
- Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm, Northern Oregon Coast | 1996-02-03 | 25 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
What these are
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1996
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3, 1996
- Cold in South Carolina, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Texas, February 3 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Georgia, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in North Carolina, February 3 to 6, 1996
- Cold in Alabama, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Avalanche and Flood in Alaska, February 3 to 10, 1996
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3, 1996
- Flood in California, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Georgia, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Oregon in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5558023, 5558024.