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April 10, 1903: That’s the latest in a calendar year that Portland had ever recorded measurable snowfall—one-tenth of an inch downtown.
That is, until Monday, April 11.
Starting shortly after midnight, the city received between 1 and 5 inches of snow, much of it coming down in wet, clumpy flakes that Mount Hood skiers sometimes refer to as “Cascade concrete.”
The freak April snowstorm toppled at least 400 trees in Portland, downing power lines and blowing transformers. The result? More than 91,000 utility customers without power, most of them in the Willamette Valley.
It’s the latest example of extreme weather in this city. In the past year alone, we’ve endured wildfires, a deadly heat dome, and bitter freezes. And like previous meteorological events, it may spur changes in public policy.
Late Monday morning, City Commissioner Dan Ryan lamented that the Joint Office of Homeless Services had not opened emergency weather shelters in advance of the storm. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty joined him in calling for changes to the criteria for opening such shelters.
“This snow is wet and heavy—tents are battling this weight just like downed limbs and trees—and if it is cold enough to snow, it is cold enough to activate our emergency response and bring Portlanders indoors,” Ryan wrote on Twitter.
Officials with the Joint Office of Homeless Services said the forecast changed too late in the day to staff emergency shelters. Office spokesman Denis Theriault says Ryan has inquired previously about lowering the threshold for opening weather shelters—and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury’s office relayed back that “every single one of us in this partnership will need to contribute more.”
