The snow shut Portland down. Hundreds of city, county and state employees worked to keep buses and streetcars running and roads passable. But even so, travel proved slow-going and thousands of stranded people booked virtually every hotel room in the area.

Sound familiar?

That was the scene here on Jan. 21, 1943, when the city set its one-day record for snowfall. A total of 14.4 inches fell at the airport and 15 1/2 fell in downtown that day.

The snow that fell Tuesday and Wednesday is certainly noteworthy, but because it fell over two days, it didn't set a one-day record. The count: 8 inches at Portland International Airport and 11.8 inches downtown, making it the biggest snowstorm in about 20 years. It ranks fifth for the most snowfall at the airport in a 24-hour period, according to the weather service.

A snowstorm of this magnitude generally happens once every 20 to 25 years, National Weather Service meteorologist Clinton Rockey said. The last time Portland saw similar snowfall was in 1995, when 12 inches fell at the Portland airport on Feb. 12.

And Tuesday's snowfall did set one record: for the most snow on Jan. 10 -- with 6 1/2 inches falling at the airport before midnight, the weather service said. Another 2 to 4 inches fell after midnight, the weather service said.

The heaviest snow in the West Hills, North Portland and Vancouver, the weather service said. Some areas in the West Hills had as much as 15 inches of snow.

The heavy snow prompted Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency in Oregon. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler also declared a state of emergency in the city.

The most snow Portland has ever seen in a month was in January 1950, when 41 1/2 inches piled up the city. The winter of 1892 to 1893 holds the title for the most snow in a winter, when nearly 70 inches fell downtown.

Even if this blizzard isn't the biggest, meteorologists have a name for weather like it, Rockey said: "child memory events." It's the sort of storm that kids will remember and talk about for years to come, he said.

-- Samantha Matsumoto

Interactive chart by Lynne Palombo

503 294 4001; @SMatsumoto55