My corner of the world has been dealt some extreme weather this week, causing major travel headaches for travelers whether by train, plane or automobile. We’ve had a mighty unusual winter so far, especially considering we are under the influence of a La Niña weather pattern. That usually promises a wetter-than-normal winter, but all of December was crazily dry. (We had .01 inch of rain through Christmas here in Medford; average rainfall is around 3 inches in that time.) That’s extremely bad news for all the folks who make their living providing goods and services to skiers and snowboarders who normally flock to the region’s many ski resorts.

Well, this past week has been trying to make up for all that dry weather. Heavy snowfall in western Washington and the Cascade mountains, torrential rains throughout western Oregon and hurricane-force winds along the Pacific coast combined to snarl air, rail and auto traffic everywhere. Since most of the major urban areas in both states lie in the western valleys, sandwiched between the Coast and Cascade Mountain ranges, that is also where the major airports sit and transit lines run (Interstate 5 and passenger and cargo rail).

Heavy, wet snow followed by ice forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights in and out of SeaTac for at least two days. Rapidly rising rivers and streams closed dozens of highways and still threaten portions of our north-south lifeline, I-5. Rail lines between Portland and Seattle periodically shut down due to landslides and railbeds weakened by the soggy ground. Add to that mix widespread power outages due to snow, wind and ice, and you’ve got the makings of transportation nightmares.

Our own travel plans were thrown a curveball by the weather. A roadtrip to Seattle came to a screeching halt in Portland Tuesday evening with predictions of heavy snow up north for the next day. Good thing we held off: One of the towns along our route received 18 inches of snow in about 6 hours, and the entire Puget Sound area came to a virtual standstill under the onslaught.

Ah, well, good travelers are nothing if not adaptable, and certainly the skiers are smiling!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor