A heavy snow storm hit Mount Hood Sunday afternoon through the evening. It dumped heavy snow and made driving extremely difficult.
ODOT reported several vehicles sliding off the highway.
Highway 35 was closed northbound at US 26 and US 26 was closed at Highway 216, because of so many crashes. Westbound traffic on Highway 26 was diverted onto Highway 216 then Highway 197 to I-84 and west to Portland.
People leaving the resorts on the mountain reported taking five hours to get out of the snow.
The combination of weekend storms caused severe icing on Mount Hood Meadows upper lifts. They’re hoping to get them reopened by Monday afternoon. Meadows has a 60 inch base with nearly a foot of snow over the last two days. They’ll have fireworks at 10 p.m. for New Years eve.
Timberline Lodge received a foot of new snow for a base of 77 inches. Timberline will have fireworks at 10 p.m.
Mt. Hood Skibowl has a 28 inch based and will have fireworks at Midnight to ring in the New Year.