Posted Wednesday, January 18, 2012 --- 7:00 a.m.

SEATTLE (AP) -- Schools are closed today in several cities in the Pacific Northwest as the region is getting hit with a major snowstorm.

Crews have been salting streets with forecasts calling for up to 5 inches of snow in the Seattle metropolitan area and heavier amounts along the Interstate 5 corridor south of the city. The city's schools have canceled classes, as have schools in other western Washington cities, including Tacoma, Olympia and Bellingham.

Forecasters warn that road conditions will be dangerous. More than two dozen flights in Seattle and Portland, Ore., have been canceled.

Snow has been falling steadily in parts of western Washington and Oregon since the weekend. The Cascade Mountains could see as much as three feet of new snow through tonight, and officials are warning of high avalanche danger there.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.