PORTLAND -- A confounding mix of heavy snow in higher elevations and a wintry mix approaching downtown Portland created a morning commute that had cars crawling and caused a series of closures in Portland.
U.S. 26 inbound remained a parking lot until 11 a.m.
(The image at left is U.S. 26 at Murray at about 10:30 a.m.)
Thick snow at the Sylvan overpass slowed down drivers, creating a jam that started about 6:30 a.m. that quickly backed up as far as 185th. A 20-minute commute grew to over an hour. Drivers abandoned cars along the freeway.
The same scenario unfolded on I-5 northbound into Portland, with cars slowly rolling along as drivers took the cautious high road. Traffic had dissipated by mid-morning.
I-84 inbound traffic also moved slowly for a time.
KGW's Drew Carney captured a motorists nightmare at snowy and slick SW Hamilton and Dosch.
Watch: Slips, slides, crunches at SW Hamilton & Dosch.
Several roads in hilly areas of Northwest Portland were also closed by the wintry weather.
Northwest Skyline and Thompson was closed for several hours for a downed power line. Snow and slush shut down NW Germantown Road. West Burnside was closed from Hermosa Boulevard to Skyline due to a crash but reopened shortly before noon.
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