A snowy forecast will temporarily close the North Cascades Highway at midnight Thursday.

Officials are expecting up to 3 feet of snow, high winds and a swift drop in temperatures, according to a state Department of Transportation news release.

The North Cascades Highway usually closes between Thanksgiving week and mid-December, re-opening in late April or early May. The highway closed last winter on Dec. 4 and reopened last spring, on May 1.

“Avalanche chutes can fill and release in as few as 20 minutes under the right conditions, which is faster than we can react to keep motorists or our crews safe. We don’t want to risk back country recreationists getting caught in a potentially dangerous storm event either. We’ll go back in on Monday and evaluate conditions for reopening,” said Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker in the release.

Crews will check all the parking areas between the two closure gates Thursday night, Becker said. The storm front isn’t expected to bring the heavy snow until Friday.

“Having the gates closed Thursday night will keep anyone who didn’t get the word from getting up there and caught in the weather event that’s coming,” he said.