Snow in Portland: 5 local weather experts make their predictions for ...

Yes, it’s snowing in Portland and beyond.

The National Weather Service recorded an inch of snowfall at Portland International Airport by around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The agency had originally forecasted less than an inch of accumulation by the end of the day.

Local forecasters have different ideas about how much snow Portland will see by the end of this week’s cold snap, with most saying anywhere from a dusting to 3 inches are possible by Thursday morning.

National Weather Service

National Weather Service meteorologist David Bishop said the Portland area to the Columbia River Gorge could get between 1 and 6 inches of snow by the end of the day, though the amounts are “going to be very elevation-dependent.”

“It’s still very showery in nature, so some areas are picking up a little more than other places,” Bishop said.

Higher amounts of snow will fall at above 500 feet and in the gorge, while significantly less is expected in Portland, Bishop said.

The agency predicted a 20% chance of snow Thursday morning, but Bishop said that forecast will likely change throughout the day Wednesday.

KATU’s Rhonda Shelby

Meteorologist Rhonda Shelby is predicting that a “showery winter mix” will continue falling overnight Wednesday, with up to 2 inches of snow expected at sea level and over 3 inches possible by Thursday morning south of Salem.

“Widespread sea level snow is likely - with areas of the Central Willamette Valley seeing more than north into early Thursday - as the system slowly drops south,” Shelby wrote Wednesday morning.

Read more from KATU here.

KGW’s Rod Hill

According to KGW meteorologist Rod Hill, up to 3 inches of snowfall is possible between Vancouver and Albany on Wednesday, with more areas seeing snow later in the evening as east winds from the Columbia River Gorge blow into the valley.

Temperatures in the 20s Wednesday night could cause icy road conditions, KGW wrote Wednesday.

“Anybody and everybody at our lowest elevations has at least a chance to pick up some snow between now and tomorrow morning,” Hill said during KGW’s noon weather forecast.

Read more from KGW here.

KOIN 6′s Kelley Bayern

Kelley Bayern, a meteorologist for KOIN 6, said a “very heavy band of precipitation” was falling over Portland Wednesday, with more expected later in the day.

Snow accumulations will increase after sunset Wednesday, with up to 3 inches possible near Portland International Airport and downtown Portland, KOIN 6 reported.

Read more from Koin 6 here.

FOX 12′s Jeff Forgeron

Jeff Forgeron, a FOX 12 meteorologist, on Wednesday called the day’s forecast “one of the most complicated” of his career, with a wide range of possibilities for snow accumulation in the Willamette Valley and Southwest Washington.

But Forgeron warned that everyone in the lowlands west of the Cascades “should be prepared for sticking snow and dicey road conditions” through Thursday morning, with most areas getting up to 3 inches of snow.

“If you don’t have to be at work this afternoon/eve, play it safe and head home early,” Forgeron tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

FOX 12 reported that some areas west of the Cascades could get between 3 and 5 inches of snowfall by late Wednesday evening, with accumulations varying “quite a bit from city to city.”

Read more from Fox 12 here.

-- Catalina Gaitán, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalingaitan_

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe.