Sudden snow surprises East Portlanders

One person was not thinking that snow in outer East Portland wasn’t unusual, just a week before springtime …

In the Lents neighborhood, kids enjoy romping in the snow covering Raymond Park.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

With concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus on the minds of most people – on Saturday, March 14 – the last thing most people expected was a sudden snowstorm! With spring just a week away, it was our first of the winter season – blanketing yards and spring plants.

But, National Weather Service Meteorologist Will Ahue told East Portland News that no one should have been really surprised.

“We’ve had snow as late as the middle of April!” remarked Ahue.

“An unusually cold weather system moved down from the north, and met ocean moisture moving east, over Portland, causing the snowfall that measured a total of ½” at our building in Parkrose,” Ahue explained.

An impromptu snowball fight breaks out, even as the snow melts. Check the big snowball headed toward the youngster on the right!

Kids flocked to public parks for snowball fights, and to create snowmen and snow forts. Spring-blossoming flowers sported crowns of white edging, and limber bamboo shoots bent down to arch over nearby streets.

And morning walkers enjoyed the rare sights produced by the snowfall.

The brief blizzard doesn’t stop shoppers from heading out in neighborhood business districts.

But alas, by evening, only the most sturdy snowmen survived, only to melt away overnight.

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