NOTE: This report is being provided free as a community service of Salem Reporter.
UPDATE 11:20 a.m. Wednesday – Cherriots has suspended all service Wednesday due to road conditions. Cherriots LIFT will provide life-sustaining trips only.
“Although some of the main roads are suitable for travel, many of the side roads and sidewalks remain extremely slick,” the transit agency said. Cherriots plans to resume service Thursday.
Chemeketa Community College is closed for the day and all classes are canceled. Willamette University’s Salem campus will open at noon.
UPDATE: 9:45 a.m. Wednesday – State offices that were going to open late now instead will be closed.
UPDATE 8:20 a.m. Wednesday – Marion County announced all its offices would be closed for the day on Wednesday.
UPDATE: 7 a.m. Wednesday – The city of Salem announced all city offices, Center 50+, the Salem Public Library an the Salem Airport are closed for the day.
UPDATE: 6:30 a.m. Wednesday – The Salem-Keizer School District has announced schools and offices will be closed for the day because of conditions.
Freezing rain continued through most of the night in Salem, leaving streets and sidewalks treacherous and prompting yet another round of closures and delays.
The temperature finally climbed above freezing just before 5 a.m. and was 39 by about an hour later. That turned the freezing rain back to rain as a weather system moved into Oregon slower than expected.
Here are temperatures as recorded at the Salem Airport Wednesday morning:
4 a.m. 30
5 a.m. 34
6 a.m. 41
7 a.m. 43
8 a.m. 45
9 a.m. 45
The National Weather Service forecast Salem would get to about 47 on Wednesday and won’t dip below freezing again in the coming days. The city reported about .40 inches of freezing rain.
Meantime, Salem has a lot of thawing to do to get the community moving again.
“Major streets are softening up well. However, neighborhood streets, sidewalks, and parking areas will need more time to melt and are expected to remain slick until later today,” the city said in an announcement.
Cherriots reported that it wouldn’t start service again until noon Wednesday – and that could change, depending on circumstances.
The Salem-Keizer School District was holding to a one-hour delay in school operations but early Wednesday announced schools would be closed Wednesday and all district-related activites canceled.
State offices in Salem were scheduled to open at 10 a.m.
As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, PGE’s outage website showed 473 customers without power in south Salem and Salem Electric reported power out in west Salem impacting fewer than 50 customers overnight but its map showed all power restored by 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the state, Gov. Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency for Lane County because of impacts of the ice storm. The Oregon Department of Transportation on Tuesday closed Interstate 84 from Troutdale to Hood River to keep motorists out of the Columbia Gorge during the storm. The agency had no estimate when that stretch of freeway would open.
Useful resources
Useful resources:
CLOSED:
•Salem city offices
•Center 50+
•Salem Airport
•Salem Public Library
•Salem-Keizer School District
•Chemeketa Community College
•Salem Academy
•Willamette Education Service District
•Salem Child Development Center
DELAYED:
•Cherriots – Service delayed until noon
WEATHER:
National Weather Service: forecast
City weather: OneRain
ROADS:
Salem streets: Ice routes
State highways: Tripcheck
UTILITIES:
PGE: 800-544-1795; storm information
Salem Electric: 503-362-3601; outage information
Warming shelters: Status and needs
Cherriots: Service alerts
STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected].
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