Ice Storm, Western Columbia River Gorge
- When
- January 16, 12:00 PM PST to January 17, 5:00 PM PST
- Where
- Western Columbia River Gorge forecast zone
Ice Storm in Oregon, January 16 to 17, 1997
Freezing rain produced significant accumulations of ice and disrupted traffic through the Columbia Gorge and over the passes of the North Oregon Cascades. Pockets of light freezing rain were also reported in the Willamette Valley at Albany and Eugene as well as the eastern parts of the Portland metropolitan area.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- 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.
Freezing rain produced significant accumulations of ice and disrupted traffic through the Columbia Gorge and over the passes of the North Oregon Cascades. Pockets of light freezing rain were also reported in the Willamette Valley at Albany and Eugene as well as the eastern parts of the Portland metropolitan area.
Event by event
2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice Storm, Northern Oregon Cascades
- When
- January 16, 12:00 PM PST to January 17, 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
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
- Ice Storm in Washington, January 16 to 17, 1997
- Strong Wind in New York, January 16, 1997
- Cold in West Virginia, January 16 to 20, 1997
- Winter Weather in Ohio, January 16 to 17, 1997
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, January 16, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 16 to 18, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 16, 1997
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 16, 1997
- Cold in Ohio, January 16 to 20, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 16 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 16, 1997
- Blizzard in Wisconsin, January 16, 1997
More
Every storm in Oregon in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 1997
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: 5586326, 5586327.