The winter storm was slowly releasing its icy grip Saturday on parts of the Portland area.

Power was being restored to utility customers throughout the region, where about 8,700 Portland General Electric customers were still without power on Saturday night, the company said, primarily because of power lines snapped by ice-weighted tree branches. As many as 37,000 customers in those utilities' service areas were without power Saturday morning.

We thank customers for patience as crews work to restore power to ~10.5k still out. Lots of lines down still, please stay away & stay safe! — Portland General (@portlandgeneral) December 10, 2016

I-84 remains closed in the Gorge. No EYA yet for re-opening. WB trucks can wait at exit 82 in The Dalles on 6th or 7th streets.. — Oregon DOT (@OregonDOT) December 10, 2016

The two-storm's grip was strongest on the region's east side and especially in the Columbia River Gorge. All lanes of Interstate 84, eastbound and westbound, were closed Saturday morning from Troutdale to Hood River, because of icy conditions. The highway's westbound lanes reopened at 5 p.m. Eastbound lanes remained closed.

I-84 East of Troutdale still covered in packed snow and ice. Cold temperatures are preventing thawing of ice. pic.twitter.com/rEo6lURfZl — Multnomah Co Sheriff (@MultCoSO) December 10, 2016

Power was restored to about 40,000 PGE customers throughout the day Saturday and crews continued to work into the night, the company said.

Pacific Power reported on its website that about 3,500 customers were without power Saturday night.

"It's pretty wild out there," PGE spokesman Steve Corson said Saturday morning. "Last night, quite a bit of that accumulated ice weighed down and all of these frozen limbs started to drop." Corson said the agency did not have a projection of when power would be restored.

Downed power lines and ice-covered overhead wires on the east side that disrupted MAX service severely Saturday morning had moderated by the afternoon.

MAX Blue Line restored after crews cleared trees/tree limbs from the tracks in East Ptld/Gresham. Expect delays as regular service returns. — TriMet (@trimet) December 10, 2016



At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the transit agency said all MAX service had been restored after crews removed trees and tree limbs blocking tracks on the east side. Shuttle buses were serving some trips between Gateway Transit Center and Cleveland. Delays were still expected: up to 30 minutes on the Blue Line eastbound between Gateway and Cleveland through 5 p.m.; up to 30 minutes on the Green Line through 5 p.m.; up to 15 minutes on the Orange, Red and Yellow lines through 4:30 p.m. The agency advised riders to check trimet.org/alerts.

About 100 people were stuck on a MAX train for at least three hours Friday night after a power line fell on the tracks near Interstate 84 and Interstate 205, KATU reported. Portland firefighters freed the passengers.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation reported that these streets were closed Saturday because of downed power lines, downed trees and other debris in the roads: Northwest Skyline from the Portland city limits to Highway 26; Northwest Cornell from Skyline to Northwest 30th; Northwest 53rd from Thompson to Cornell; Northwest Germantown Road from Bridge Avenue to Skyline.

The Oregon Zoo was closed Saturday because of icy conditions in the West Hills, thus putting its popular Zoo Lights off limits until at least Sunday.

Beautiful day for a Tram ride! Make sure to visit our Family Fun Event: tile painting and ornament making, till 4. https://t.co/pWQFEM5exn — Portland Tram (@PortlandTram) December 10, 2016

Eight flights -- six on Southwest and two on Alaska Airlines -- had been canceled Saturday morning at Portland International Airport. No other cancellations were reported on the airport's website.

Earlier Saturday, the National Weather Service had predicted a high of 46. That target was reduced to 42, with a likelihood of rain throughout the day. Rain and showers were projected for Sunday with a forecast high of 46.

"We feel pretty strongly that things will moderate today and we'll be quite a bit warmer as we go through the day," hydrologist Andy Bryant said Saturday morning. "But it's been a tricky one. We've been waiting for this warm air to show up."

--Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman