Snow Day! Redding area residents make the most of a frosty Friday

Brandon Ray knew how to make the most of a snow day Friday. He got up out of bed early and got busy spending time out in the snow.

"I love the snow," Ray said during a break from clearing snow from the driveways at Midway Market and J&R Tires off Highway 273 south of Redding. He went back and forth plowing snow with a Bobcat skid steer tractor.

But that was just his latest adventure with snow Friday morning. He started the day spending time with the frosty stuff earlier.

"This morning I went and took all my friends to work and just kind of just drove them around this morning in my truck because they don't have four wheel drive," Ray said.

"Once I'm done here, we're going try and drive up to Shasta Dam. Four wheel drive works good. We just like getting out in the snow," he said.

The National Weather Service's official rain gauge at the Redding Regional Airport recorded 5 inches of snow, 1 inch shy of the "snowmageddon" storm that dropped 6 inches in Redding on Feb. 13, 2019, said National Weather Service meteorologist Katrina Hand.

Some areas in the Redding area reported up to 8 inches of snow on Friday, Hand said. Friday's snowfall doesn't come close to the most snow recorded in Redding in one day.

The all-time record snowfall for Redding was 16 inches on Dec. 23, 1968, Hand said. And for February, the record snowfall was 8 inches in 1908, she said.

Whatever the amount, snow in the Redding area is unusual enough for residents to consider it a break from the typical rainy weather. Many people got outdoors Friday to make snowmen, snow angels or cause mischief.

Most schools throughout the North State were closed for the week already, before the snow fell.

Cody Duncan of Redding said when he opened the front door of his house Friday morning he was smacked in the head with a snowball.

While he said he enjoys the snow, he and and Sarah Duncan were not going to work and planned to spend the day at home. They headed down to a nearby convenience store to get stocked up on enough snacks and drinks to get them through the day.

Dillon Singh, who owns the Midway Market south of Redding, said business was slower because of the snow, but those customers who did come in tended to make larger purchases all at once.

Typically customers from the neighborhood drop by two or three times a day to get snacks and groceries, but with the snow, they tried to keep their traveling down to one trip, he said.

While many roads in the Redding area were plowed Friday, driveways and parking lots were left to private property owners to clear.

The snow over the region ground travel to a halt on Interstate 5, with the northbound freeway lanes closed 10 miles north of Redding. Southbound I-5 was closed north of Weed. Highway 44 was also closed east of Palo Cedro.

"The snow will start to taper off pretty much in the afternoon and into the evening," Hand said Friday.

The North State was expected to get a break in the weather Saturday, but another storm system was expected to arrive Sunday and last through mid-week. It was uncertain if that storm would bring more snow, Hand said.

Numerous snow-related traffic spinouts, downed utility lines and trees into power poles were reported across the North State on Friday.

But it wasn't a hassle for 17-year-old Mary Grace, who enjoyed watching the snow fall while standing in the front yard of her home south of Redding on Friday.

"I love the snow. I think it's so pretty out here. I always tell my dad like, 'I want it to snow. I want it to snow,' and he's like, 'You hate it because it's cold,' but I was like, 'Yeah, but it's pretty,'" Grace said.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Snow Day! Redding area residents make the most of a frosty Friday