Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Thunderstorms Possible This Afternoon and Evening

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement regarding thunderstorms in our area.

Thunderstorms are expected this afternoon and tonight over the south Washington and northwest Oregon Cascades and possibly adjacent valleys.

Here is the full text of the warning:

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 453 AM PDT WED AUG 24 2011 ORZ003-004-006>014-WAZ019-023-039-040-250400- COAST RANGE OF NORTHWEST OREGON- CENTRAL COAST RANGE OF WESTERN OREGON-GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA- CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY-SOUTH WILLAMETTE VALLEY- WESTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE-NORTHERN OREGON CASCADE FOOTHILLS- NORTHERN OREGON CASCADES-CASCADE FOOTHILLS IN LANE COUNTY- CASCADES IN LANE COUNTY-UPPER HOOD RIVER VALLEY- SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADES-GREATER VANCOUVER AREA- SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADE FOOTHILLS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...VERNONIA...JEWELL...TRASK... GRANDE RONDE...TIDEWATER...SWISSHOME...HILLSBORO...PORTLAND... OREGON CITY...GRESHAM...SALEM...MCMINNVILLE...DALLAS...EUGENE... CORVALLIS...ALBANY...HOOD RIVER...CASCADE LOCKS... MULTNOMAH FALLS...SANDY...SILVER FALLS STATE PARK...SWEET HOME... GOVERNMENT CAMP...DETROIT...SANTIAM PASS...VIDA...LOWELL... COTTAGE GROVE...MCKENZIE BRIDGE...OAKRIDGE...WILLAMETTE PASS... PARKDALE...ODELL...COLDWATER RIDGE VISITORS CENTER... MOUNT ST. HELENS...STEVENSON...SKAMANIA...VANCOUVER... BATTLE GROUND...WASHOUGAL...TOUTLE...ARIEL...COUGAR 453 AM PDT WED AUG 24 2011

...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT OVER THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON CASCADES AND POSSIBLY OVER THE ADJACENT VALLEYS...

VERY WARM WEATHER COMBINED WITH HIGHER THAN NORMAL DEW POINTS AND A WEATHER DISTURBANCE NEAR THE CALIFORNIA COAST THAT WILL BE SPREADING SOME MOISTURE ACROSS WESTERN OREGON THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ARE EXPECTED CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF TONIGHT.

THE STRONGEST STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE OREGON CASCADES AND CASCADE FOOTHILLS. GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH OR HIGHER AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT TONIGHT OVER THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY...IN THE OREGON COAST RANGE... AND NORTH THROUGH CLARK COUNTY INTO THE SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADES AND FOOTHILLS.

BE SURE TO TAKE COVER SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH YOUR LOCATION TODAY OR TONIGHT.

Please check the National Weather Service's Portland Office page for developing information.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation, Response and Recovery Workshop in Clackamas

To honor the 10th anniversary of 9/11, there will be a day of Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation, Response and Recovery Workshops at New Hope Community Church in Clackamas from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Sign up to help hone your skills in building community resilience and increase your effectiveness in all phases of emergency management. This workshop is open to all.

Register to attend this disaster training and participate in recognizing the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 in a meaningful, proactive and life-saving way. Click here to register:
http://disastertraining.eventbrite.com

New Hope Community church is located at
11731 SE Stevens Rd, Portland, OR 97086

Storm King Incident Survivor to Speak at Scappoose High

Kim Lightley is a surviving member of the US Forest Service Prineville Hotshots from the July 6th, 1994 Storm King Mountain Fire in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Please join us for this presentation as Kim describes her experiences that day, and the steps she took to gain strength and overcome the trauma of being a surviving co-worker. The presentation will take place this Thursday, August 25th at 7pm in the Scappoose High School Auditorium.

Please contact Division Chief Ron Youngberg if you have questions at (503) 397-2990.

This talk is geared toward public safety, but interested individuals are welcome to attend as well.

National Weather Service Open House this Saturday

Ever wanted to see where our weather watches and warnings are issued from? Curious about what tools the National Weather Services uses to come up with their forecasts? Well, this Saturday you have the opportunity to find out.

The National Weather Service is hosting an open house for the public at their office in Portland this Saturday, August 27th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.

You can drop in anytime during the event and stay as long as you want. The NWS will have 10-15 minute presentations at the top and bottom of every hour (e.g., 11:00, 11:30, etc) and offer tours of the facility. You're invited to discuss topics of interest to you with staff on hand.

Some of the areas you can tour and topics discussed or demonstrated are:

Weather Satellite Imagery
Doppler Weather Radar
NOAA Weather Radio (What is it and why do I need one)
Real-time River Stage Displays
Getting Weather from the Internet


Please drop in and say hello to our partners at the NWS. The address is below.

NWS Portland
5241 NE 122nd Ave
Portland, OR 97230

Thursday, August 11, 2011

E. Coli Strawberry Sales Locations

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has released a list of locations that sold strawberries tainted with E. coli.

Click here to view the list: http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/FSD/strawberries.shtml

Three of the locations were in Columbia County.

Sixteen people in Washington, Clatsop, Multnomah counties and Northwestern Oregon have been infected in the past month. The farm that grew the berries no longer has any of the of them on the market.

Anyone who thinks they might have tainted berries is encouraged to throw them out if the berries were purchased during the dates outlined in the list.