Sean C. Morgan
The big storm proved to be a lot smaller than expected, locally, Sunday night and power stayed on throughout most of the Sweet Home area.
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District responded to six calls for downed wires, said Fire Chief Mike Beaver. In two cases, trees completely blocked roadways, including Whiskey Butte Road and Highway 228, just west of the Holley Store.
Power was out in both areas, Beaver said. His crews didn’t notice power outages anywhere else.
Most of the calls were between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., Beaver said. Wires were reported down on the Upper Calapooia a little after 7 a.m. on Monday. A couple of trees had small fires that went out when the power was cut.
A fallen tree blocks Highway 228 just west of the Holley Store. A power line is tangled in the tree. Power was knocked out to the area after the tree fell and tore the wire down around 9 p.m.
“As hard as it was blowing, I thought it was going to be an all-nighter,” Beaver said, estimating gusts at up to 40 to 45 mph.
Sustained winds reached 20 to 30 mph in the mid-valley, according to Liana Ramirez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland. A gust recorded in Albany reached 54 mph. Corvallis had a gust of 44 mph.
Corvallis recorded 1.03 inches of rain Sunday, she said. “It wasn’t as strong as we anticipated.”
The position of the low pressure area was exactly what forecasters predicted, but it just wasn’t as strong. The storm also pushed through faster than expected.
This week, forecasters were looking for snow, Monday and Wednesday, Ramirez said. She expected it to hit the valley floor, and most sites would have a dusting, with one to three inches above 500 feet.
The snowfall is likely to be scattered, with some locations clear.
Past Wednesday, she said the forecast calls for wet, cool and breezy weather, with top gusts at 20 mph.
Police Chief Bob Burford said that police officers saw a lot of fallen limbs, a basketball hoop had been blown over and there were several burglar alarm activations in Sweet Home.
Pacific Power reported no substantial power outages in the Sweet Home area.
Lebanon Pacific Power customers had 1,000 customers out of power at about 11 p.m. Sunday, with just 13 left after 4 p.m. Monday.