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Heavy weather awaits travelers Forecasts call for a foot of snow in the Cascades by tonight, more by week's end From staff and wire reports Storms threatening gale-force winds and heavy snow and rain swirled toward Oregon on Wednesday as holiday travelers prepared to brave the roads and skies to visit their families. Wind gusts as high as 80 mph and stormy seas were expected off the Oregon Coast overnight Wednesday in one of the strongest storms this season. Heavy rain caused a landslide on U.S. 101 Wednesday that closed both lanes of the coastal highway near Manzanita. In the Cascade Mountains, weather forecasts called for a foot of snow by Thursday night and another foot by the weekend. Mount Ashland could have more than a foot of snow by Friday morning with more on the way for the weekend and still more the middle of next week. "We've got a fairly vigorous storm moving in right now. It's not great travel weather," said Tyree Wilde, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland. Southern Oregon snow levels will plummet through the day from 7,000 feet on Wednesday to 3,500 feet by tonight. "We're expecting all the passes over the Cascades and Siskiyous to get some snow (tonight)," said Roger Gerig, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service office in Medford. Mountain peaks in Southern Oregon will get more than the 3 inches of snow predicted for the passes today, Gerig said. He estimates that by Friday morning, local mountains should have nearly a foot of fresh snow on top of what accumulated Wednesday. Mount Ashland reported only 3-4 inches of snow Wednesday morning; afternoon accumulations were not available. Because snow has taken its time arriving in Southern Oregon, the mountain will not be open for the Thanksgiving holiday. Snow levels will rise to 4,500 feet on Friday and dip back down to 3,500 feet for the weekend. Showers are expected over the weekend with clearing early in the week before another wet storm rolls in on Wednesday, Gerig said. "When we get into this fast westerly flow, it just brings them in one after the other." Medford accumulated 0.45-inch of rain for the 24 hours ending 4 p.m. Wednesday. Another 0.2 inch fell between 4 and 5:30 p.m., Gerig said. The coast bore the brunt of the rainfall ahead of the front Wednesday, with one weather spotter near Brookings reporting 2 inches of rain. Ron Scheele, a spokesman with the state Department of Transportation, said crews are most concerned about Oregon 26, which links Portland and Mount Hood, where heavy snow and ice are expected. Scheele said he also was worried about minor flooding and rock slides along the coast. Oregon State Police promised to be out in force over the weekend with unmarked cars and aircraft, monitoring road conditions and watching for drunken drivers. Last year, police responded to 528 accidents - four involving fatalities - over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. ODOT has snow plows and emergency crews on hand to patrol the highways nonstop until Monday night, said Dave Davis, ODOT spokesman. The agency stockpiled 32,000 tons of sand in the Portland area to sprinkle on winter roads and has spent months updating its equipment for snow and ice. Davis said he expects heavier-than-usual holiday traffic on the state's highways because of falling gas prices and fear of flying following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "We may have some Thanksgiving dinners go cold while our guys are out clearing the roads, but they expect that," he said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.