LIVE BLOG: Temperatures falling, state of emergency declared

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- As the entire Pacific Northwest preps for an incoming blast of winter weather, the greater Portland area and Willamette Valley are expected to deal with dangerous cold, strong winds, snow and ice starting Friday evening and lasting into next week.

The KOIN 6 Weather team says these conditions will likely lead to power outages, bad road conditions and bitter wind chill.

This live blog will be updated often as the Arctic blast sweeps through.

Friday - 1:10 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Portland has placed the city and much of the northern Willamette Valley under a "Winter Storm Warning." This goes into effect on Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Friday - 11:05 a.m.

In advance of the arrival of well-below-freezing temperatures in the area Friday night, Multnomah County has declared a state of emergency that will go into effect at 5 p.m. Friday evening.

Friday - 9:15 a.m.

The arctic front has arrived in the region as noted by the wind shifting and coming more out of the east. Temperatures are already below freezing, 26 degrees, in the Kelso and Longview areas and a much colder 17 degrees in The Dalles where light snow has been falling.

Friday - 9:00 a.m.

The National Weather Service's Portland office announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the storm has stalled out, kicking the snow portion of the weather event closer to Saturday morning. However, NWS also warns of a Friday evening flash freeze event as east winds ramp up.

Friday - 8:15 a.m.

The dangerous cold on the way to the region has the potential of doing some very bad damage to your house. A pipe that has busted in the ice-cold climate is insidious because you probably won’t know about it until after the weather starts warming up. Here's how you can keep your pipes safe.

Stick with KOIN 6 News for more on this KOIN 6 Weather Alert.