PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Freezing rain, ice and fallen trees forced the closure of highways and roads in Oregon and Washington on Wednesday.
Interstate 90, the main highway connecting western and eastern Washington, was to remain closed over Snoqualmie Pass until at least Thursday morning because of hazardous winter conditions. Crews will re-evaluate the roadway Thursday morning.
A 45-mile stretch of Interstate 84 between Troutdale and Hood River will remain closed all day and a section of the same highway near Ontario, in eastern Oregon, was also closed.
Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass, east of Seattle, remained closed due to ice, snow slides and multiple crashes. The Washington State Patrol says troopers responded to 67 collisions overnight because roads are covered with layers of snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Multiple school districts and government offices also delayed or canceled their operations Wednesday.
Oregon transportation officials closed I-84 after a major ice storm hit the Columbia River Gorge and forced the highway to shut down Tuesday afternoon.
But temperatures are now warming and the next concern is flooding as heavy rains mixes with melting snow and ice from recent storms.
Freezing rain also hit a broad swath of the Cascades, Central Washington and southwest Washington.
The Yakima airport in Washington closed at 6 p.m. while the runway at Spokane International Airport was closed at 9 p.m. due to freezing rain.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.