Philomath and the surrounding area woke up to icy conditions and snowfall Thursday morning as a winter weather system moved through the region.
The Philomath School District anticipated challenging conditions and originally called for a two-hour delay Wednesday evening but then opted to call off classes entirely early Thursday. The closures affect all campuses in the district, including Kings Valley Charter School.
Neighboring school districts, including Corvallis and Alsea, also announced closures. Roots Primary School in Philomath is also closed.
Philomath City Hall announced that its offices are closed all day Thursday. The city manager’s office said many city employees are working remotely but may not be able to return voicemail messages until Friday or Monday. Philomath police and public works remain available for emergency services. There are plans to clear roads when the snowfall ends.
Among the other announcements, Benton County’s offices are also closed, including Benton County Circuit Court. County personnel will monitor weather and travel conditions to determine if offices can safely reopen Friday. The county posted information on various services online.
Linn-Benton Community College closed all campuses with remote classes continuing as scheduled. The school said in-person classes may be moved to remote learning at the instructor’s discretion.
Republic Services canceled its Thursday routes in Philomath. According to an alert sent to customers, the service will resume next Thursday with a note that an extra week of “trash equivalent to your cart will be taken at no extra charge.”
An ice storm warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect until 4 a.m. Friday with additional snow accumulations up to 2 inches and ice accumulations up to three-tenths of an inch. Motorists should expect slick roads, bridges and overpasses. Ice accumulation on power lines and tree limbs could lead to power outages.
The National Weather Service also has a cold weather advisory in effect until noon Thursday.
As of 7 a.m. Thursday, Philomath residents were seeing light snowfall with a temperature of 29 degrees, according to weather.com. Snow mixing with rain was anticipated to continue through the noon hour.
Forecasts show that freezing rain is expected Thursday evening in Philomath with temperatures hovering in the low 30s. Rain and possibly some snow appears likely overnight Thursday into Friday morning. Temperatures will warm up Friday into the 40s with a forecasted high of 46 at around 4 p.m.
Conditions should dry out Saturday during the day with a high of 45 but rain appears to be likely Saturday night along with a low of around 39. Then Sunday, cloudy conditions with periods of rain are in the forecast.
Extended forecasts show rain continuing off and on through next week with high temperatures in the low to mid-50s.