CENTRAL OREGON COAST – With more than 40 million Americans reported to be impacted by recent severe winter storms in the Pacific Northwest; forecasters reported Jan. 18 that, unfortunately, the awful conditions – including bitter cold and more snow blizzards and even hurricane force winds -- will continue this week.
Here along the Central Oregon Coast area, locals are batting down the hatches for the ongoing “big blow” of Jan. 18 that forecasting agencies said will bring the full measure of winter rain, ice and snow to the Pacific Northwest with more of the same expected for the remainder of the week. Meanwhile, more than 200 auto accidents were reported for just one day statewide in Oregon Jan. 16 when a “major winter storm” dumped upwards of 12 inches of snow up in the coast in Seattle; while a rare two-day snowfall blanketed most of the Oregon coast in what locals call “a sure sign of global warming.” In fact, the National Hurricane Center issued warnings for the central Oregon coast Jan. 18; while the force of the winds has the “feel” and reminder of the Japan earthquake last March that triggered massive Tsunami waves and hurricane force winds that slammed the entire West Coast.
Rare snowstorm hits Pacific Northwest
On average, according to forecasters, Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest sees only about five inches of snow in a year, but over the past few days, Seattle alone received more than a foot of snow; while snow storms also blanketed much of the Oregon coast that rarely sees any snow during the winter season.
For instance, one local in Florence, Oregon, told Huliq -- in a Jan. 18 interview -- that “we’re getting all of winter this week.” At the same time, this Florence senior quipped “I never thought I’d have to shovel snow again when I retired here. It’s supposed to be in the 60’s outside with sunny days for golfing.”
In turn, meteorologists noted during Jan. 18 that this winter storm that’s toppled trees and powers lines in nearby Eugene, is now the worst snowstorm to hit the Pacific Northwest in 30 years. The result is most schools and even towns are shut down, with police warning drivers to stay home unless they have a real need to venture out on the highways
At the same time, most of the Pacific Northwest coastal areas are bracing for more slick, snowy and icy highways as weathermen are calling for more of the same on Thursday.
An Inconvenient Truth that global weather is getting worse
When “An Inconvenient Truth” was presented here at the University of Oregon a few years ago, former Vice President Al Gore opened his presentation with: “The entire North Polar ice cap is disappearing before our eyes. What do you think is happening?”
Recent massive rain storms in the Pacific Northwest -- where dams are bursting and rivers raging out of control -- mirror the massive snow storms that Gore predicted as “harbingers” of climate change that won’t go away, but just get worse and worse.”
Gore says these maps identify events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming.
Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, ‘What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?’ We have to hear that question from them, now,” states Gore in his film about the harbingers of global weather change that the world is experiencing now.
As climate change increases the risk of flooding, human changes in land use and land cover will also contribute to the growing risk of flooding, states the research unit that has several major web sites featuring global weather information.
For instance, the National Weather Service predicts how heavy snows across the U.S. “will only increase, as will flooding in many parts of the country this winter season.”
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