February 8,2014
Meanwhile, another piece of energy from Orion dusted parts of the South Friday night. Little Rock, Ark. and Clayton, Okla. picked up 2.5 inches of snow, while one-half inch of snow dusted Bolivar, Miss.
Orion is forecast to bring light snow to parts of the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-South through the weekend.
Scroll down below for more information on how specific states have been impacted by Winter Storm Orion.
Arkansas
Snow swept into Arkansas Friday evening during rush hour, creating treacherous driving conditions and tying up traffic in the Little Rock metro area for hours.A person who jumped from an interstate bridge in southwestern Arkansas into an icy river to avoid a jackknifed 18-wheeler remains missing Saturday night.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens said the search for the person in the Little Red River was called off shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday because of darkness. He said the search would resume Sunday.
Little Rock officials said the city closed five roads because they were either blocked by abandoned cars or were unsafe. "At this time, I encourage citizens to exercise extreme caution if they must get out on the roads," City Manager Bruce T. Moore said in a statement Saturday morning.
California
The rain and snow that began to fall in drought-stricken California Friday is expected to continue through the weekend in the biggest storm that the area has seen in more than a year. Still, Orion's impacts won't be enough to break the drought.The storm dropped more than 7 inches of rain on Marin County's Mt. Tamalpais, an average of 4 inches in Sonoma County and one to three inches in San Francisco, San Jose and other urban areas as of Saturday morning, National Weather Service hydrologist Mark Strudley said.
The San Francisco Bay Area has received only about 25 percent of the rain it has normally had by this time of year, said National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson.
The storm deposited a foot of snow of on the top of Lake Tahoe ski resorts that have relied on man-made snow for much of the season, and elevations above 7,500 feet were expected to get another foot or two by Sunday, said Holly Osborne, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento.
The additions, which followed some brief periods of snow in the last week, already have improved the outlook for the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides about a third of California's water supply. When state surveyors last checked on Jan. 30, the snow pack was at 12 percent of normal for this time of winter. By Saturday, it was at 17 percent of normal.
"It's not a drought buster, but it's definitely more than a drop in the bucket," said Steve Anderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey.
On Saturday, wind gusts of 30 miles per hour halted the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The round was suspended shortly after Trevor Immelman's ball rolled 6 feet away from where he had marked it on the fourth green at Pebble Beach.
Oklahoma
The snow and ice that contributed to one death in Oklahoma has ended, at least for much of the weekend. Rusty Sherman, 25, of Ardmore was killed after the pickup truck he was riding in skidded off icy Interstate 35 and overturned near Marietta in southern Oklahoma about 1:45 a.m. Saturday, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported. Sherman, a passenger in the southbound pickup, was pronounced dead at an Ardmore hospital, according to the OHP report."Parts of southern Oklahoma were blanketed by up to four inches of snow Friday night. Ardmore, Okla. picked up three inches of snow in just five hours, so it's easy to see how road conditions could have deteriorated quickly," weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported Saturday that crews continued to treat Interstate 40 and other roads in western and southern Oklahoma that remained slick and hazardous, but said that driving conditions were improving.
Oregon
The National Weather Service said the Portland area should expect another 4 to 8 inches of snow through Saturday night and the Columbia River Gorge might get more. Meanwhile, freezing rain was expected in the wine country southwest of Portland to the lower Willamette Valley south of Eugene, triggering an ice-storm warning for a stretch of more than 100 miles.A female passenger was killed Friday in a single-vehicle crash on icy Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon State Police said. Oregon State Police Lt. Steve Mitchell says troopers statewide have responded to about 600 weather-related crashes since Thursday, and assisted another 900 motorists who needed help. Travel is expected to remain hazardous through the weekend, and those who must drive can expect delays.
Two children playing on what they thought was a frozen pond in the east Portland suburb of Troutdale fell through the ice and were rescued Friday by their mother, who went in after them and also fell through the ice. A fire official said the boys were about 8 and 10.
The Emerald People's Utility District reports widespread power outages throughout rural communities surrounding the Eugene-Springfield metro area.
According to the utility, at least 5,300 customers in communities such as Cottage Grove, Pleasant Hill, Marcola and Dexter were without power Saturday afternoon because of downed lines. More outages are expected through the evening as trees will continue to fall from the weight of ice and snow,
The Register-Guard newspaper is reporting that 2,000 customers served by the Springfield Utility Board were without power and another 500 customers served by the Eugene Water & Electric Board.
Meanwhile, Portland General Electric says about 250 of its customers lacked lights Saturday afternoon, mostly in Clackamas and Multnomah counties.
(MORE: Orion: How Much More Snow Ahead?)
State police warned of hazardous driving on Interstate 5 between Salem and Eugene.Salem police declared that drivers were required to have chains or traction tires until midnight Saturday. Some city streets were impassable because of stranded, abandoned cars, they said.
New York
The New York City Department of Sanitation has issued a snow alert ahead of Winter Storm Orion for 1 p.m. Sunday. The Department of Sanitation says it's loading salt spreaders, attaching plows and preparing tire chains in anticipation of the flakes.Utah
Authorities in Utah posted an avalanche warning, and mountain snowfall prompted the closure of canyon highways near Logan and restrictions in the Salt Lake City area. The Utah Avalanche Center is warning that the danger of snow slides borders on extreme during the weekend, particularly in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.Backcountry skiing is discouraged for people without expert route-finding and avalanche skills.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that U.S. 89 through Logan Canyon was closed and U.S. 89/91 was restricted to vehicles with four-wheel drive or chains in Sardine Canyon and the Cottonwood Canyons.
The Utah Highway Patrol reports no major incidents overnight Friday.
Washington
Weather played a factor in a big pileup on I-5 Thursday. The pileup occurred across the Columbia River in Washington state's Clark County, and killed one person and injured others. At least half a dozen tractor-trailers were involved in the collision on the snow-covered freeway, The Columbian reported.Washington State Patrol Trooper Steve Schatzel said several people were trapped in the wreckage. One suffered injuries described as critical and two others suffered serious injuries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Snow coats a car in downtown Hillsboro, Ore. on Thursday, Feb. 6. (Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)
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