North Cascade Highway closed for winter

Highway 20 over the North Cascades closed for the winter on Monday.

The state Department of Transportation made the decision after determining the avalanche chutes along the highway are full of snow and are unstable, according to a news release.

The highway was temporarily closed on Friday because of weekend snow forecasts.

The 37-mile stretch of the highway that closes for the winter begins 14 miles east of Newhalem at milepost 134 on the west side of Rainy Pass and ends 22 miles west of Winthrop at milepost 171 east of Washington Pass.