I-84 · OR / ID
I-84 through the Blue Mountains: road conditions right now
Portland, OR to Boise, ID
Between Pendleton and La Grande, I-84 climbs Cabbage Hill (Emigrant Hill) to over 4,000 feet through the Blue Mountains. Freezing fog, ice, and truck crashes close it regularly, and ODOT often requires chains on the grade.
Checking the forecast, NWS alerts, and DOT feeds for I-84 right now…
Why this stretch is hard in winter
- Cabbage Hill is a 6% grade with hairpin curves; it is where most winter closures start.
- Freezing fog settles in the Columbia Basin between The Dalles and Pendleton and glazes the road without any snow falling.
- Deadman Pass (4,193 ft) and the Ladd Canyon stretch near La Grande are the other two frequent closure points.
- The Columbia River Gorge segment closes for east-wind ice storms that coat everything from Hood River to Troutdale.
What this page checks
- Hourly forecast at every checkpoint for the time you would be there: temperature, precipitation type and rate, gusts, visibility.
- Active National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories on the route.
- Snow on the ground (NOAA SNODAS) and the Weather Prediction Center winter impact outlook.
- Pavement temperature and surface state from state DOT road sensors, when you are leaving within a few hours.
- Chain controls, closures, and winter road condition reports from state DOT feeds where they are published openly.
- Seasonal closures of mountain roads the router might otherwise use.
Official sources for this corridor
Questions drivers ask about I-84
- Are chains required on Cabbage Hill?
- Frequently for trucks and sometimes for all vehicles. ODOT posts "chains required" on TripCheck and roadside signs; carrying chains is required in the Blue Mountains from Nov 1 through Apr 30 when conditional signs are posted.
Conditions change by the hour. This page is a planning aid built on public forecasts and DOT feeds; the road authority linked above has the final word on closures and chain requirements.
Other corridors: I-80 across Wyoming · I-70 through the Colorado mountains · I-80 over Donner Pass · I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass · I-15 over Cajon Pass · I-90 across South Dakota · all corridors