It s been 60 years since Oregon last saw such sweeping power outages.
By most accounts, it’s been 60 years since Oregon saw a storm that damaged the power grid to the degree ice and snow battered the Portland region this weekend.
In 1962, the famed “Columbus Day Storm” felled trees, powerlines, statues and military outposts with its typhoon-force winds. “The intense winds left over a million people in Oregon without electrical power, some of them for weeks,” reads an Oregon Historical Society account of the event.
Today, the Portland region is in a similar state. More than an inch of ice accumulation over the weekend downed thousands of power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of people from Marion County to North Portland wondering when they might have their service restored. Portland officials said they received a staggering 2,800 emergency calls Monday, as residents reported severe power outages and dangerously dangling tree limbs.
Feb 16, 2021
The Columbia River basin will see an increase in flooding over the next 50 years as a result of climate change, new modeling from Oregon State University indicates.
The magnitude of flooding – the term used to describe flooding severity - is expected to increase throughout the basin, which includes the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers and hundreds of tributaries. In some areas, the flooding season will expand, as well.
“The flood you’re used to seeing out your window once every 10 years will likely be larger than it has been in the past,” said the study’s lead author, Laura Queen, a research assistant at OSU’s Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.
Study: Warmer weather will increase flooding in the Columbia River Basin this century
Monica Samayoa
Warmer winter weather, more rainfall and less snow will contribute to significantly increased flooding in the Columbia River Basin this century due to climate change, new research says.
New modeling shows an increase of flooding by up to 60% in the next 50 to 100 years, according to a study by Oregon State University’s Oregon Climate Change Research Institute. Less precipitation falling as snow during the winter will lead to earlier spring streamflows for many rivers in the basin, including the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers and hundreds of tributaries.
SALEM â By most accounts, itâs been 60 years since Oregon saw a storm that damaged the power grid to the degree ice and snow battered the Portland region this weekend.
In 1962, the famed âColumbus Day Stormâ felled trees, powerlines, statues and military outposts with its typhoon-force winds. âThe intense winds left over a million people in Oregon without electrical power, some of them for weeks,â reads an Oregon Historical Society account of the event.
Today, the Portland region is in a similar state. More than an inch of ice accumulation over the weekend downed thousands of power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of people from Marion County to North Portland wondering when they might have their service restored. Portland officials said they received a staggering 2,800 emergency calls Monday, Feb. 15, as residents reported severe power outages and dangerously dangling tree limbs.