Thousands without power after North State wind storm

Damon Arthur, Redding Record Searchlight
·2 min read
Wind gusts up to 69 mph were recorded overnight in the North State, blowing over trees and causing power outages and problems on roads. Two trees were found blown over along Highway 44 west of Shingletown on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022.
Wind gusts up to 69 mph were recorded overnight in the North State, blowing over trees and causing power outages and problems on roads. Two trees were found blown over along Highway 44 west of Shingletown on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022.

Thousands of North State residents were without power Tuesday morning after wind gusting up to 60 mph blew through the region, knocking over trees and causing other disruptions.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. reported power outages from San Luis Obispo to Redding on Tuesday morning, with thousands of residents without electricity in Shasta County alone. About 3,500 Pacific Power customers were without electricity in Siskiyou County on Tuesday morning, the utility said.

Outage maps showed areas east of Redding were the most affected, which is also where the strongest winds were also recorded overnight, said Eric Kurth, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The weather station at the Redding Regional Airport recorded wind gusts up to 60 mph around 2 a.m., and a PG&E weather station east of the airport recorded gusts at 65 mph, Kurth said.

The California Highway Patrol reported trees down in roadways in many areas across the North State. Redding recorded the highest wind speeds this morning, with Red Bluff getting winds as strong as 55 mph.

The wind tended to taper off south of Redding, Kurth said.

Wind gusts reached 74 mph in the Weed and Gazelle areas Tuesday morning, said Misty Firmin, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Medford, Oregon.

Caltrans issued alerts Tuesday, warning that high profile vehicles should not travel on Interstate 5 north of Weed and on Highway 97 from Weed to the Oregon border.

Both lanes of Highway 96 west of the town of Klamath River were closed due to emergency roadwork, Caltrans said. The agency did not know when the road would reopen.

A PG&E power outage map showed thousands left without electricity Tuesday morning after a strong wind storm blew through the North State overnight.
A PG&E power outage map showed thousands left without electricity Tuesday morning after a strong wind storm blew through the North State overnight.

There were recorded gusts up to 69 mph in the northern Sierra Nevada, he said. More wind, although not as strong, was expected to continue until about noon Tuesday, Kurth said.

The weather service reported 1.33 inches of rain fell at the Redding airport on Monday. While the wind is expected to ease up, more rain is expected Thursday through Saturday, with 2- to 3-inches Friday and Saturday, Kurth said.

About 1.5 inches of rain also fell in the Shasta Valley area of Siskiyou County through the 24-hour period ending Tuesday morning, Firmin said.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Thousands without power after wind storm in Shasta, Siskiyou counties