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Winter storm warning in effect for Cascades Monday Dec 26, 2016 at 1:58 PM Dec 26, 2016 at 3:05 PM Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune @teresathomas_MT While nearly a foot of snow is expected at higher altitudes over the next few days, the valley will see only light rains and, hopefully, slightly higher temperatures. “A front from the northwest will only graze the area,” said Misty Duncan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Medford office. “The bigger impact will be up north toward Portland.” The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory Monday that will be in effect from 10 p.m. today until 4 a.m. Wednesday. Areas of the Cascades north of Lake of the Woods and around Crater Lake are expected to get between 8 and 12 inches of snow by Tuesday, which will impact anyone traveling on highways 62, 230, 140 or 138, Duncan said. “The southern part of the Cascade Mountains from Highway 140 south and the Siskiyou Mountains can see 2 to 5 inches,” the advisory said. Meanwhile, about a tenth of an inch of rain is predicted to fall on Medford Tuesday, and thanks to the cloud cover, temperatures are expected to get as high as 45 degrees Tuesday and hover in the low- to mid-40s the rest of the week, Duncan said. The Mt. Ashland Ski Area, which has received 16 inches of snow in the past seven days, is expected to get 2 to 4 inches of news snow by Tuesday night. More snow is expected to fall on the ski area near the end of the week. Mt. Ashland, which is open daily until Jan. 2, reports a total of 58 inches of snow near the summit. After Jan. 2, the area will revert to its regular operating days of Thursday through Monday. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt.