According to the 2025 Oregon Climate Assessment, the effects of climate change are anticipated to bring more severe ice storms and freezing rain to the Willamette Valley, the foothills of the Cascades, and the Columbia River Gorge in the next fifty to seventy-five years.
Additional freezing rain is also anticipated to be brought to these areas.
It is anticipated that the ice storms will be the consequence of an increase in the average temperature of Oregon of five degrees by the year 2074 and of seven and a half degrees by the year 2100.
According to Larry O’Neill, a climatologist at Oregon State University, people were astonished to learn that rising temperatures could lead to an increase in the frequency of major ice storms in the Willamette Valley.
“We started a simple question: Will freezing rain decrease?” O’Neill stated. “It’s very natural to think that would be the case. What we found, actually, is that big impactful ice storms may increase in the future.”
According to O’Neill, due to the rising temperatures, there will be a reduction in the number of minor ice storms.
On the other hand, it is anticipated that warmer temperatures will bring additional precipitation to the region and will also generate stronger low-level winds that are oriented eastward in the Columbia River Gorge.
In addition to the Willamette Valley and the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the Columbia River Gorge is also influenced by these easterly winds, which bring frigid air.
When temperatures drop to freezing or near-freezing levels, it is anticipated that there will be a greater number of severe ice storms as a result of the combination of the additional rainfall and the stronger easterly winds.
“Projections suggest that easterly winds through the Columbia River Gorge may strengthen during winter, even as the Willamette Basin becomes warmer,” according to the climate report. “Therefore, ice accretion on some surfaces in the region may increase during freezing rain events.”
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It is possible that these severe ice storms will have a significant impact on the infrastructure of the region.
Portland General Electric, which was concerned about the future of the region’s electrical system, collaborated with local researchers in 2023 to conduct a study that focused on the causes and impacts of the probable increase in wind-driven freezing precipitation in the Willamette Valley.
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“Ice accretion from freezing rain can damage power and communication lines, housing, and other infrastructure; disrupt and endanger air and ground transportation, and harm plants and animals,” according to the report.
When it comes to planning for the future, the findings of these research could potentially serve as a framework for local businesses and government officials.
“Portland General Electric was hoping for less [freezing rain],” O’Neill stated. “[The study] has actually influenced some of their decisions on things like infrastructure. There are a lot of big decisions to make … the power infrastructure is not designed for what we’re anticipating in the future. Infrastructures will have to be prepared for hot and cold extremes.”
