Major winter storm pummels Pacific Northwest

WASHINGTON -- The Pacific Northwest is getting slammed with another dangerous storm.

For the past few months the region has been battered by severe weather leading to mudslides and flash floods. Now in some areas -- snow.

Both directions of Interstate 90 in Washington state were closed due to avalanche control work, but has since reopened, CBS affiliate KIRO reports.

A winter storm warning has been issued for many areas of eastern Washington and eastern Oregon through Tuesday morning. Up to 4 inches of snow could fall in the valleys and up to 7 inches in the mountains. Blowing and drifting snow was also expected.

CBS affiliate KIRO reports that over two feet of snow is forecasted on Monday for Snoqualmie Pass.

A morning deluge pushed Portland's December rainfall into record territory -- with 10 days to spare.

It's rained every day this month and the National Weather Service says it has added up to 13.5 inches. That breaks the previous December record of 13.35 inches set in 1996.

The record fell at about 7 a.m. Skies cleared later, but strong winds knocked out power, closed sections of highway and forced the Oregon Zoo to close for the day.

Portland is expected to add to its record in the coming days. Rain is in the forecast Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Portland General Electric reports that more than 30,000 customers have lost power as strong winds take down trees.

An outage map on the utility's website shows more than 13,600 customers without power in Clackamas County and 11,300 without lights in Multnomah County. Others without power are in Washington, Yamhill and Marion counties.

Winds gusts of more than 40 mph have been reported from the coast to Portland to the Columbia River Gorge.

The wind is expected to remain strong into the evening.

Meanwhile, in parts of the U.S., winter is feeling more like fall. In the Eastern half of the country, temperatures soared into the 50s and 60s on Monday.