PORTLAND, Ore. -- An early-season snowfall greeted many towns in the Columbia River Gorge on Tuesday morning.

At about 9 a.m., several people reported snowfall in Hood River and Cascade Locks on the Oregon side of the Columbia River and White Salmon on the Washington side.

FOX 12 meteorologist Mark Nelsen said snow briefly stuck at almost sea level in the Gorge, but the main band of precipitation has moved out of the area.

Several long-time residents said this is one of the earliest snowfalls they've seen.

"I looked out my window this morning and saw little white things. At first I thought, well, it must be leaves. Then, no, it was snow, you know? (The snow) turned the ground white. Some of the cars had ice over the windshields," said Donna Daigle, who lives near Parkdale.

Julie Clark captured the photo below at Pine Grove Elementary School in Hood River on Tuesday morning.

Elsewhere, high winds caused power outages near Kelso and Woodland in southwest Washington. About 1,700 customers were without service at 10:30 a.m.

The Portland metro area has also seen strong wind that caused a large tree to fall near Southeast 41st Avenue and Raymond Street at about 1 p.m. The tree took down two utility poles and the feeder lines between them, said a Portland General Electric representative.

As of 2 p.m., almost 7,000 people were without power as a result of the fallen tree.

Nelsen said winds reached 44 mph in Portland, 48 mph in Troutdale and 64 mph in Corbett.

Already? Gorge Gets Early Season Snow

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