Rare March Blizzard Hits Willamette Valley, Gov. Brown Declares State of Emergency

AP- Altamont Press. A rare winter snow storm pounded the Willamette Valley on Saturday. The worst hit area was south of the State Capital, Salem, where up to three quarters of an inch of snow, the average total for the entire Month of March, was recorded at Hyslop Weather Station between Albany and Corvallis on March 18. The snowfall total smashed the old record for the date by three quarters of an inch.

“This is a very usual Weather Event for late March” said Oregon State University Meteorologist Ura Khiken. “Normally the mid-Willamette Valley Floor elevations only see about half an inch of snow in March, and that is almost always in the first week. By mid to late March the highs are normally into the upper 50s, so to have almost an inch of snow like this only two days before Spring is a very rare event indeed. As is typical for late winter snow, the temperature remained above freezing, so it melted almost right away.”

So rare in fact that Gov. Brown declared a state of Emergency for Linn and Benton Counties. When we contacted Oregon Governor Kate Brown for comment, her office released this statement: “I am not sure what you are talking about, Gov, Brown did not declare a state of emergency anywhere in Oregon. The snowfall was less than an inch, it never stuck to the main roads, and the rest of the snow melted within a couple hours.”

It was later determined that it was in fact California Governor Jerry Brown that declared a state of emergency on behalf of a group of Californians stuck at the Albany Amtrak station. The large contingent of Californians rode up on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight to attend Winterail, an annual gathering of Train Spotters, when the storm trapped them inside the station. Unable to get from Albany to Corvallis because of the quickly melting yet still menacing looking snow on the side of the road, they called the California National Guard for assistance.

Some members of the group bought houses in the area to wait out the storm. “I was going to stay at a local hotel to wait out the blizzard” said Mr. Fo M. Err, “but then I realized I could just buy a house with a down payment that’s less than a month of rent back in the Bay Area.”

The California National Guard arrived in time to escort the Californians to the show at the Corvallis High School before the last show finished. By then the snow had completely melted, so the trip was uneventful. And they were still able to catch the highlight presentation by Ima Giek entitled, “21 Years of Watching Paint Dry on Former SP Depots in the LA Basin”

Pictured: Albany Fire Department responds to check on the status of Californians stuck at the Albany Amtrak Depot.