GOVERNMENT PASS, Ore. -- Mountain roads and passes could be slick this weekend and authorities were warning motorists to be prepared for winter conditions, even if it is only early October.

Snow temporarily closed U.S. 20 at Santiam Pass for a few hours Thursday night after several vehicles, including at least three semi-trucks, slid off the highway.

And in the Bend/Redmond area, slick conditions on U.S. 97 lead to several minor crashes there as well.

Officials with the Oregon Department of Transportation also said that U.S. 26, or the Mount Hood Highway, also had patches of ice and snow at Government Camp Friday morning.

In addition, snow already arrived on Oregon highways 20, 58, 140 and on Interstate 5's Siskiyou Pass near Ashland. And snow was in the mountain passes in eastern Oregon along I-84 between La Grande and Pendleton.

ODOT encourages motorists to pull over and park in a safe area if the roads are slick and they need to make calls on their cell phones.