Severe weather shelters in the Portland metro area are closing as temperatures warm slightly.
Officials for Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties did not have plans to reopen shelters Monday night after keeping shelters open over the weekend. The number of people using Multnomah County’s warming shelters dropped from 849 people Friday night to 492 Saturday night as the weather started to improve, the county said. Many shelters closed by Sunday afternoon.
Officials in the Portland area said they will be prepared to reopen the shelters if the forecast changes.
It will be rainy in Portland on Monday with an expected high of 39 degrees before temperatures drop to 33 degrees overnight and the city potentially sees more snow, the National Weather Service said. A winter weather advisory will be in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday due to potentially hazardous road conditions. But a high of 41 degrees Tuesday could melt any snow accumulation, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures could reach a high of 44 degrees Wednesday.
Multnomah and Washington counties open extra shelters if temperatures are forecasted to be at 25 degrees or below, snow accumulation is expected to be one inch or more or temperatures are expected to be at 32 degrees or below with rain or snow.
Clackamas County opens its severe weather shelter when temperatures are predicted to be 33 degrees or lower, including wind chill, or when other factors such as snow or wind make sleeping outside particularly dangerous.
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s office is investigating one possible hypothermia death that occurred last Wednesday in Portland when the city got 10.8 inches of snow. Investigators will not be able to officially confirm the cause of death for several weeks to months, officials said.
In Multnomah County, severe winter weather led to eight deaths of people experiencing homelessness in 2021, the most recent year the data is available.
Jennifer Vines, Multnomah County health officer, noted that not all those deaths occurred during declared severe weather emergencies, which prompt additional warming shelters to open throughout the county. People also died while living outside on dry nights when temperatures were above freezing, she said.
Nicole Hayden reports on homelessness for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She can be reached at nhayden@oregonian.com or on Twitter @Nicole_A_Hayden.
