Mayor Charlie Hales Calls from South Africa "To Discuss the Weather"

It's snowing.

Mayor Charlie Hales

Mayor Charlie Hales is calling city employees from a climate change summit in Johannesburg, South Africa to talk about the fact that it is snowing in Portland.

"Portland Mayor Charlie Hales has called essential city staff to gather at 1 p.m. today to discuss the weather and possible reactions," Hales' spokesman Dana Haynes writes in a statement. "The media and community will be notified immediately if the mayor and city leaders deem action is needed."

Johannesburg is 11 hours ahead of Portland, so it's almost midnight there. The weather is 67 degrees and raining.

Hales is attending the C40 Mayor's Summit, a climate change conference, where he's taking part in a panel on infrastructure.

Absurdity aside, the improper handling of a snowstorm can wound a politician's reputation far more than major policy decisions. Consider the PR fiasco that enveloped New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg when his office wasn't prepared for a 2011 blizzard.

No pressure.

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