Winter storms hit Portland, hindering some while delighting others

When a winter storm descends upon east Portland, schools close, businesses send employees home early and folks dash to the grocery store to stock up on essentials in case they become homebound.

That was the case early last month, when two cold blasts came through. The first began with a light snowfall that turned into a treacherous, icy mess. While trees beautifully laden with silvery ice and snow cracked and split under the extra weight, intrepid Mid-county residents did get out and about.

The second storm caught many by surprise and impeded traffic so much that the commute home turned into an hours-long slog.

Long-range forecasts for this month predict average temperatures here, but many residents will no doubt restock their pantries and supplies of candles and batteries—just in case.

Kelly Brown of Brown’s Point S Tires provided safe transport for Memo photographer.