This story was updated at 10:09 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17 with City Hall opting to close for the day instead of opening late.
The prospect of waking up Wednesday morning to improving weather and road conditions for commuters, students and others who need to get around the region didn’t happen with overnight ice and rain continuing to fall on Philomath.
The Philomath School District, which had originally planned to start classes two hours late with morning buses on snow routes, ended up canceling the entire day. Corvallis and Alsea canceled as well.
“Roads are still an icy and slushy mess,” Superintendent of Schools Susan Halliday reported just after 5 a.m. Wednesday. “While those well-traveled may clear off by mid-morning, outlying roads still need time.”
Pacific Power and Consumer Power Inc., were both reporting power outages in and around Philomath impacting hundreds of customers.
Benton County had planned to open its offices two hours late but decided to just keep them closed for the day with icy roads still dangerous for motorists.
“Widespread downed trees, significant ice on roads and related challenges have been reported,” said Cory Grogan, Benton County’s public information officer. “We urge the public to exercise extreme caution.”
Philomath City Hall changed its plans to open two hours late and instead opted to just remain closed for the day.
“All city offices will remain closed today due to weather conditions,” City Manager Chris Workman said. “Our parking lot is a skating rink … just not safe to have the public here.”
Linn-Benton Community College and the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library system, which includes Philomath Community Library, also remain closed.
The weather forecast for Philomath shows promise that the ordeal may soon be over with predicted highs in the upper 40s. Rain was falling in the morning hours and could continue through much of the day. Wednesday night, the forecast shows a low of 42 with a 90% chance of rain.
On Thursday, the forecast shows highs in the mid-40s and lows in the upper 30s with rain continuing. Over the next several days, temperatures appear as though they will remain in the upper 40s to lower 50s with periods of rain.