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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, May 5, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 21, 2002 Snowstorm halts traffic on Summit By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Blizzard conditions on Interstate 5 in Northern California intermittently interrupted travel south of Ashland throughout Friday. The Red Cross opened a shelter at Hedrick Middle School in Medford Friday evening for stranded travelers. Three Greyhound buses headed south arrived with 128 passengers, who settled in at the school’s multipurpose room to await better weather, said Antone Hernandez, emergency services director for the Rogue Valley chapter of the Red Cross. The shelter also was open to motorists who needed a place to stay. Hernandez said the Red Cross provided cots and blankets and ACCESS Inc. provided food and beverages. Poor weather and road conditions closed the Siskiyou Summit Friday afternoon. Oregon Department of Transportation crews were working to reopen the pass, when the California Department of Transportation asked crews to stop travelers in Ashland because of severe wind and snow causing problems south of Yreka. By about 10 p.m., both states reopened I-5 south, but warned that conditions were still bad. Oregon Department of Transportation crews and Oregon State Police troopers started letting 50 vehicles head south every 10 minutes. Chains were required. Travel conditions varied on other highways around the region. To the north, I- 5 was bare and the weather rainy at Sexton Summit. Highway 140 had packed snow on the roadway and snow flurries at Lake of the Woods and Doak Mountain. On Highway 66’s Greensprings Summit, the road was covered with packed snow and it was snowing Friday night. It was snowing hard at Diamond Lake on Highway 230 and the road was snowpacked. Highway 62 was bare to the boundary of Crater Lake National Park. Winter weather is expected to continue with rain showers today and snow levels at 3,000 feet, said National Weather Service meteorologist Sven Nelaimishckies. Snow levels will drop to 2,500 feet tonight and temperatures will dip to about 30 degrees. Standing water, such as in parking lots, could freeze and cause icy conditions. Cold Canadian air will spill over the Cascades Sunday and Monday keeping things chilly, he said. A wind change will warm things up a little Christmas Eve through the end of next week. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Advertisement s