As we watch towns in Massachusetts get over 40″ of snow this week, I find myself reflecting on what would happen if Portland faced such a storm. At first, it seems rather funny: the city would probably stop dead in its tracks. I can imagine our single snow plow chugging along the infinite loops of streets.
On a little further reflection, I recall other (comparatively mild) storms that have caused fairly impressive amounts of damage. The PNW is not equipped for that kind of weather, and even six inches has the potential to be destructive!
Portland’s record for the single snowiest day was set on January 21, 1943, with 14.4 inches in a single day. Life in the city came fully to a halt, although some students were able to secure skis to navigate campus:
In 1980, another record-breaking storm rolled through, dropping 6 inches in a single night before coating it with a thick layer of ice. Reed’s trees were no match for the ice’s weight, and nearly every single one was damaged:
Not to be outdone by some measly sky-fallen ice, students have had their own weather-borne impacts on campus. In 2014, Reed made headlines around the state, when a group of students created an 800 pound snowball near the Grove dorms. A pair of math majors miscalculated–clearly they hadn’t earned their laurels yet–and an attempt to send it down the hill to crash on 28th Street sent it careening off course instead. It smacked into one of the Reed College Apartments instead, ripping a wall off its studs. Fortunately, no one was harmed, and the snowball narrowly missed the window.
In 2021, Mother Nature proved, once again, that she is not to be outdone with snowy carnage. Again, only about 6 inches of snow fell on the city, but it was combined with freezing rain, which clogged downspouts and increased the weight borne by roofs around the city. In dramatic fashion, the Reed gym collapsed under the pressure:
Were we to see even half of the snow the East Coast is blanketed in, I have to believe even the Old Dorm Block might meet its wintry end! Instead of longing for a few snowflakes, I will have to resign myself to appreciating that the forecast calls for weather in the 50s with sunshine, as out of place as it may seem.
– The Prexy Ghost