De-icing trucks work along Interstate 5 on the Sexton Mountain Pass in southern Oregon. Similar trucks and snow plows spent Tuesday night, Jan. 9, 2024, trying to keep Oregon's roads safe for travelers out in the winter storm that hit the region. Blizzard warnings remain in effect in the Cascades across much of Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Oregon Department of Transportation via X
Much of Oregon and Southwest Washington saw snow overnight, at elevations as low as 500 feet.
Even below that, some parts of the Portland metro area saw a slushy mix on the roadway. Dozens of school districts throughout the region started on two-hour delays or put their buses on snow routes. Schools were closed in several districts in Columbia County in Oregon and Cowlitz County in Washington.
View a full list of area school closures here.
Central and Southern Oregon woke up to several inches of low-elevation snow. Schools in the Bend-La Pine and Klamath Falls areas were closed for the day.
As of late Wednesday morning, Highway 66 between Ashland and Klamath Falls is closed. Other highways near Crater Lake are also closed, including Highways 230 and 138.
Along I-5, chains are required heading over the Siskiyou Summit south of Ashland. Cars heading northbound will be checked for chains at Yreka, according to Caltrans. ODOT is reporting up to a two-hour delay on I-5 because of chain restrictions.
Southern Oregon saw heavy snow overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. Around a foot of it fell at this house outside Klamath Falls at Running Y Ranch.
Courtesy of Jeff Paslay
A blizzard warning is in effect for continued high winds and heavy snow in the Cascades. Elevations above 1,000 feet, including the mountain passes, are still under a winter storm warning. But outside of that, the National Weather Service says temperatures rose above freezing for much of the region early Wednesday morning, and any remaining snow should be gone by the afternoon.
Another winter weather system is moving in later this week that could bring snow to lower elevations including the Willamette Valley by Saturday morning.
Spokesperson Don Hamilton said Oregon Department of Transportation crews were on hand to clear roadways and help with snow impacts Wednesday morning, and will be on standby as unpredictable winter weather continues.
“We’ve got the plows and the salt and the de-icer and the sand, ready to face whatever’s coming,” he said. “This is a lot of bad weather coming, really all through this coming week.”
Our crews are out in force, but we’re already seeing the impacts of this storm, as well as folks unprepared/unchained when they could really use that traction on our mountain passes. Conditions will continue to degrade, and #blizzard alerts are still under effect around #Oregon. pic.twitter.com/8CGmV3SrEF
— OregonDOT (@OregonDOT) January 9, 2024
But he also asked drivers to be especially cautious.
“We want to make sure everybody is ready and is looking out for each other on the streets out there,” Hamilton said. “Watching the roads out there and making sure they know where they’re going, and to make sure that they are prepared for bad weather.”
Jefferson Public Radio’s Roman Battaglia contributed to this report.
Related: Here’s how to prepare as extreme weather approaches the Willamette Valley
A winter storm rolled into Oregon and Southwest Washington Tuesday night, Jan. 9, 2024, bringing high winds and snow, and a blizzard warning in the Cascades. It also meant whiteout conditions in some parts of the state, including the Crater Lake area shown here.
Oregon Department of Transportation via X