Historic Hood River
Icy Locks
3-27-2019
Notes
OK, one last cold weather picture. This picture of the Columbia River frozen over at Cascade Locks is from the 1950s. The Bonneville Pool has already caused the locks to be decommissioned.
We’ve talked before about how the dams make it harder for the river to freeze: turbulent flows let the river cool off faster in cold snaps. The dams reduce the turbulence in the winter, so the river stays a little warmer. I don’t know if the river has frozen in this area since the Dalles Dam was constructed. The combination of the two dams seems to be enough to make that rare event much rarer. I won’t say impossible, or it will happen next winter.
Charlott
This gives one a very good view of “Thunder Island.”
L.E.
I don't know about this area, but I have seen the pool right behind Bonneville Dam frozen solid. Must have been the winter of 1968-69?
Rusty Neff
My mother-in-law used to tell us about riding in an old Willys Jeep with her brother out on the frozen Columbia under the Hood River bridge in the mid-50s. That was the last time she remembered the Columbia freezing over in this area.
Dwaine (Spike) Goodwin
In the late 1940's when I was adopted by Clara and Everett Wolfe, I remember him taking his WW@ surplus jeep and I across the frozen Columbia River, which was frozen solid and driving around the bridge support of the interstate bridge. There were several vehicles on the river on that day.