Northern California storms: I-5 reopens north of Redding after winter weather forced closure
Update, 2:30 p.m. Monday
Authorities reopened Interstate 5 north of Redding on Monday afternoon after it had been shutdown for several hours due to winter weather through the Sacramento River Canyon.
The freeway reopened just after 1 p.m.
Update, 7 a.m. Monday
Interstate 5 north of Redding is closed Monday morning due to multiple spinouts, Caltrans said.
Motorists are advised to use an alternate route.
The freeway is closed 10 miles north of Redding at the Fawndale exit. There is no estimated time when the freeway will reopen.
On other North State roads, chains are required on all vehicles except 4-wheel drives on Highway 44 from Viola to eight miles west of Old Station.
On Highway 299 East, chains are required from 10 miles west to three miles west of Burney in Shasta County.
Update, 9:40 a.m. Saturday
Snow and rain continue to fall as thunderstorms roll over the North State this weekend and into Monday.
Storms are expected to drop eight inches to a foot of snow in the mountains and foothills above 3,000 feet between Saturday and Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento. Those areas can expect some light snowfall on Monday, too.
In the lower Sacramento Valley, Redding will get one to two inches of rain over the weekend into Monday, the weather service said.
In Siskiyou County, the weather service's Medford branch issued a wind advisory; in effect through 7 p.m. Saturday. Southeast winds will blow up to 30 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.
Those winds could blow freshly-fallen snow, making it difficult for motorists to see along Interstate 5. Expect worst visibility from Weed, north to Gazelle, the weather service said.
In eastern Tehama County, Highway 172 closed due to snow and winter weather conditions from south of Mineral to Mill Creek, the California Department of Transportation said.
Update, 7:30 a.m. Friday
Northbound Interstate 5 reopened Thursday evening after being closed because of weather conditions.
The freeway reopened around 6 p.m., according to Caltrans.
Update, 5 p.m. Thursday
Northbound Interstate 5 is closed just north of the California-Oregon border because of winter conditions, Caltrans says.
There is no estimate for when the freeway will reopen.
Original story
The winter weather created challenging conditions on the North State’s mountain roads and highways.
For several hours on Thursday, the California Department of Transportation was screening northbound traffic on Interstate 5 at the Fawndale exit north of Redding. Caltrans started doing the screening around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
But by 11 a.m. Thursday, Caltrans had lifted the restrictions and vehicles were no longer being screened.
Arriving late Wednesday night, the storm dumped snow in the higher elevations, especially on I-5 in Siskiyou County.
The California Highway Patrol reported spinouts and other traffic hazards due to the weather on I-5 and Highway 89 in Siskiyou County, as well as on Highway 299 in Shasta County.
By Thursday afternoon, chains were still being required on I-5 two miles north of Mount Shasta to Weed.
Chains restrictions had been lifted on Highway 299 East and West in Shasta and Trinity counties by late Thursday morning. But chains were still being required on Highway 44 three miles west of Shingletown to Viola and from Viola to Old Station at that time.
Caltrans also closed Highway 3 on Thursday morning from 20 miles north of Trinity Center in Trinity County up to three miles south of Callahan and Scott Mountain ― an area 16 miles south of Etna and 15 miles west of Mount Shasta.
Further to the north on Highway 3, chains had been required on Thursday for all vehicles except those with four-wheel-drive and snow tires on all four wheels, Caltrans said. That requirement applied to motorists on the highway six miles north of Fort Jones to two miles south of Forest Mountain at the junction of Highway 3/Interstate 5.
Caltrans told motorists to watch for signage with updates.
Weekend storm to bring more rain, snow
The wet weather tapered off late Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain totals in the North State varied, said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service based in Sacramento.
“Depending on where you are, it’s a half-inch upwards to just north of an inch,” Rowe said.
Shasta Dam had received 1.16 inches of rain as of Thursday morning and the Redding Regional Airport got .52 inches.
The skies in the valley turned cloudy by mid-morning Thursday and that was followed by gradual clearing throughout the day.
“This round is coming to an end for you up north. There will be periods of light rain the rest of the morning and renewed chance of precipitation will occur on Saturday for most of the area,” Rowe said.
The weekend storm will bring about the same amount of rain and snow to the North State.
But ahead of the weekend rain, temperatures will fall overnight.
“As the system exits, we will see clearing with a cold air mass and with the cold air … low temperatures from 26 degrees to 30 degrees. Either way, you are looking at subfreezing temperatures for the folks in Redding,” Rowe said.
Schools closed, delayed due to weather
The following schools announced they were closed or started late on Thursday.
Shasta County
Montgomery Creek Elementary School in the Mountain Union School District.
Siskiyou County
Classes at Dunsmuir High School started late.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: I-5 reopens north of Redding after winter weather forced closure
