Rain and high winds caused a number of problems for travelers and utility crews across the region Friday. A landslide closed Oregon 66--Green Springs Highway--east of Ashland for a while midday Friday. Trees were also reported down in several locations, including across power lines.
Water and wind threatened to cause continued issues. Late Friday morning, the National Weather Service upgraded flood watches to flood warnings in parts of Coos, Curry, Josephine and Siskiyou Counties.
The warning text reads: "A rock slide was reported south of Callahan and flooding was also reported on highway 99 between Edgewood and Grenada in siskiyou county. Ponding of water was reported and several roads were closed due to flooding near O`Brien, where 4.5 inches has fallen since Thursday afternoon. Heavy rain will exacerbate conditions through the day."
Other advisories including a high wind warning for the eastern half of Jackson County up into the high country, high wind watches, flash flood watches, and even an avalanche watch for the north side of Mount Shasta.
Forecasters expect rain off and on through the weekend, with the winds tapering off Saturday. Drivers should expect at least a few puddles on most roadways, and a few wind gusts that will make controlling a vehicle challenging.
Snow is not an issue on most mountain passes, but the storms are finally providing some snow to the Mount Ashland Ski Area, closed since January 6th. Ski resort managers report not enough to open yet. They also caution snow lovers not to visit the ski area during the storms, because winds clocked at 55 mph are causing drifting across the access road.
All the action is caused by a series of storms, and forecasters say the breaks between storms should keep most streams within their banks.
