Did you know that in 1930 the Columbia River actually froze over? | Weather

These photos come from the archives of our news partner, The Columbian. The river, under what is now the I-5 bridge, was frozen so solid that year that you could drive on it and even land a plane.

Although it's mighty cold out there right now, a river scientist we spoke to said it is unlikely we will ever see this again.

Back then, the river flows were low and slow, which made it easier for ice to form.

"The extremes that we used to see back in the 1800s and the early 1900s were more extreme both on the high side and the low side for flow on the Columbia than what we see now because of the reservoir management all the way up the Columbia into Canada," said Andy Bryant, Weather Service Hydrologist.

The Willamette River can more easily freeze up, which it did back in 1979 and in the 1920s.