Winter weather advisory issued for Oregon's high mountain passes
A winter weather advisory is in effect for Oregon's high mountain passes from Tuesday into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Portland.
Six to 14 inches of snow is forecast, along with high winds gusting up to 50 mph on passes above 4,500 feet. That would include U.S. Highway 20 over Santiam Pass and Oregon Highway 58 over Willamette Pass.
"Travel could be very difficult," the advisory said. "Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility."
The impact would be slightly less at lower elevations including Government Camp, which is likely to see more rain today before a transition to snow overnight.
The snow builds on a similar system from this past weekend that added about six inches of snow to Oregon's higher mountain areas. Western Oregon's snowpack is 90-100% of normal so far this season.
In the Willamette Valley, about a quarter inch of rain is forecast between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Winter weather advisory issued for Oregon mountain passes
