High winds are anticipated starting Tuesday afternoon, the Portland Office of the National Weather Service said in a Wind Advisory.
The advisory is slated to last until 4 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20.
A High Wind Warning was also issued for higher elevations in the northern Coast Range for areas such as Timber and upper Gales Creek locales.
There, south winds of 25 to 35 mph are expected, with gusts as high as 60 mph anticipated.
“Widespread power outages are expected,” the NWS said.
At lower elevations, sustained south to southeast winds of 20 to 30 mph can be expected, with gusts as high as 45 mph.
The NWS said power outages could occur as a result of tree limbs falling.
“Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects such as garbage cans and other objects that can easily blow around,” the NWS said.
Forest Grove Fire & Rescue urged area residents to be prepared with the following tips:
Keep your mobile devices charged up before the winds hit, utilize portable power banks.
Have flashlights easily accessible and make sure they have full batteries installed. Try not to use candles as they can be a fire ignition source.
Pre-warm your house in-case you lose power, wear extra layers of warm clothes. Never use grills or generators indoors to help heat or power your house. Use them outside, away from doors or windows to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
For Portland General Electric customers, an outage map lists current outages and estimated power restoration times.
Customers on West Oregon Electric Co-op lines can call 800-777-1276 to report an outage and visit the utility’s Facebook page, which often lists outages in their service territory.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
