Winter storm drops more rain, snow on Shasta, Siskiyou counties

A winter storm that dropped rain and snow on the North State on Tuesday knocked out power to some communities and closed schools and highways in Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity counties.

Rain and strong winds, with gusts up to 50 mph hit the North State Monday night through Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service. The strong winter storm lasted through Wednesday.

From 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday, the storm dumped 17 inches of snow on Shingletown, said meteorologist Chelsea Peters at the weather service’s Sacramento branch.

Up to an inch of rain fell on Redding during the same time period, she said. Shasta Lake and other Shasta County communities north of Redding got 1.5 to 2 inches of liquid water in the form of rain or snow. Lake Shasta went up a foot and is now at 103% of it's historic norm.

“The snowline stayed about 10 miles north of Redding, at about 1,000 feet" causing road closures, Peters said.

North State corridors re-opened late Tuesday afternoon after winter weather blocked traffic and caused accidents.

Interstate 5 reopened just before 4 p.m. to all northbound and southbound traffic after being closed from Edgewood, just north of Yreka in Siskiyou County, to the Fawndale exit, 10 miles north of Redding, according to the California Department of Transportation.

I-5 around Mount Shasta got 24 inches of snow between 4 a.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Wednesday, said meteorologist Sven Nelaimischkies with the weather service’s Medford branch.

And it was wet snow. Mount Shasta got 1.97 inches of liquid water on Tuesday, a record for that day, Nelaimischkies said. The old record, set in 2006, was less than half that amount: 0.8 of an inch. Since Jan. 1, the area got 30.43 inches of snow, 12.62 inches above normal, Nelaimischkies said.

North Siskiyou County is still dry, he said. Yreka and Montague only got a trace of rain on Tuesday. The area's rainfall is .8 of an inch below normal for this time of year; the norm is just under 4 inches.

Caltrans closes more North State highways

Westbound lanes on Highway 299 reopened just before 4 p.m. Tuesday after they closed that morning at Buckhorn Summit, 8 miles west of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Caltrans reported.

Highway 36 reopened an hour later, Caltrans announced. Winter conditions caused big rig spinouts that closed a stretch of the highway between Platina and the Highway 3 intersection 11 miles south of Hayfork.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office cautioned motorists to be careful on all roads near closed highways.

"Stay off the roads if possible, and if you do have to drive, do not take back roads," the sheriff's office posted on social media. "If the main roads are closed, it's safe to assume the back roads are not safe either!"

Snow tire or chain requirements were in effect for some or all vehicles on North State highway, including Highway 44 from Viola to about 10 miles west of Old Station. Snow tires or chains are also required on Highway 299 in Trinity County west of Redding and east from Montgomery Creek to about 5 miles west of McArthur.

Snow and wind gusts up to 50 mph also closed schools in Siskiyou County, including elementary and high schools in Weed, Mount Shasta, Happy Camp and McCloud. No Shasta County schools reported closures Tuesday morning.

Those strong winds mixed with rain and snow also damaged power lines, knocking out power in Shasta County including parts of Burney, Bella Vista, Oak Run, Cassel, Lakehead and in communities along the I-5 corridor, according to PG&E.

Pacific Power company also reported outages in spots in northern Shasta County and Siskiyou County, including at least 525 customers living between Castella and Dunsmuir. At least another 350 customers combined were without power in McCloud, Sims, Happy Camp and surrounding communities.

North State residents will see a brief break in the storm on Thursday through Friday afternoon, the weather service said, but toward the end of the week, a weaker weather system will bring light rain showers to the Sacramento Valley around Redding, and chances of minor snow in the mountains.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: How much rain, snow winter storm dropped on Northern California