Christmas Day thaw; good travel conditions in most of region today

Portland, Oregon (KPTV) –

Most of the region woke up to mild conditions with a shower this Christmas morning, and no highway closures reported by ODOT or WADOT.

Cool air remains in the Columbia River Gorge, but temperatures will be a few degrees above freezing today. Traffic cameras show mostly bare highways this morning. As a result, Interstate 84 should have relatively good travel, mainly this morning, with only a few freezing points. Our First Alert weather team predicts highway conditions to be bare or wet by noon. All of the Cascade passes will remain snow-free through Monday night, with warmer-than-normal weather elsewhere through Tuesday.

There is concern of new freezing rains in the Columbia River Gorge, necessitating winter storm vigilance in the area. Temperatures will be near freezing tonight and Monday as the rain passes over the thin layer of cold air that remains. Freezing rain is possible but above river level mainly in the Hood River, White Salmon and Wind River valleys. In sub-freezing or near-freezing areas, up to 1 inch of icing is possible. Presumably I-84 will remain ice-free tonight and Monday.

Mountain snow returns from Tuesday onwards, bringing back the typical cool, wet weather pattern.

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