Weather Portland or

Whatever you call it, Portland and its environs have entered the realm of a winter storm that has forecasters from the National Weather Service calling for significant snow and frigid arctic temperatures.

Forecasters say snow accumulations will vary but 3-to-8 inches are possible in the lowlands from Portland on up to Seattle over the next 48 hours.

Snow has already started to fall this morning as of 6 a.m. around the Rose City but the real accumulation isn't expected until this afternoon, just in time to snarl the evening commute. And with nightfall, look for winds and a hard freeze with temperatures falling to 20 degrees.

View full sizeRob Finch, The OregonianA sight of a snowy tree on Wednesday brings Dust of Snow, a Robert Frost poem, to mind: When winter goes on too long, I turn to the poet: "The way a crow/Shook down on me/The dust of snow/From a hemlock tree.... Has given my heart/A change of mood/And saved some part/Of a day I had rued."

In Hillsboro at Orenco Station, where it's 34 degrees, big flakes are falling, melting once they hit the ground. There's snow on trees and lawns but roads clear and traffic is moving normally in Southwest Portland's Bridlemile neighborhood. In Cedar Hills, snow is sticking to planter boxes.