GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. — Timberline announced it will open the Bruno's and Pucci lifts at 9 a.m. on Monday after heavy snowfall in the Cascades Sunday night. The ski area reported getting 15 inches of fresh now over 24 hours, and the snow was still coming down through much of Monday too.
Mt. Hood Meadows ski area will have a limited opening on Tuesday, according to their website. The Daisy, Easy Rider, Buttercup and Ballroom Carpet lifts will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The ski resort received a foot of fresh snow overnight amid a storm that is expected to drop up to two feet through Monday.
"We are actively snow harvesting through the night, building ramps at the bottoms and tops of our base area lifts," said Dave Tragethon, resort vice president of sales and marketing, in a news release on Sunday.
Right now, Mt. Hood Meadows has a snow depth of 20 inches in the base area and nearly three feet mid-mountain, Tragethon said. With forecasts predicting between 28 to 48 inches of snow through Wednesday night, the resort expects to open more lifts and terrain by the weekend.
KGW meteorologist Joe Raineri said in a Sunday forecast that a winter storm warning remains in effect over the Cascades until Monday morning, with snow conditions making travel difficult over the passes. There could be up to 15 inches of snow in the Cascades over Monday night, with snow levels dropping to 2,000 feet.
Precipitation and even lower snow levels are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday before the rain and snow are replaced by cold air and dry conditions, Raineri said.
Mt. Hood Meadows announced last Monday that it would not be open in time for the Thanksgiving weekend due to a lack of fresh snow on the mountain. They'd gone nearly two weeks without any snow, though they'd been able to preserve the 17 inches of snow that fell two weeks prior.
Traveling over the mountain passes will be difficult at times over the next several days as more snow is in the forecast. Chains are required if you have plans on heading over the passes.