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    • Storm updates as the atmospheric river reaches Redding, California
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    Storm updates as the atmospheric river reaches Redding, California

    Vaseline Posted on

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    The first blow of an atmospheric river, the first major storm of the season, brought impressive amounts of rain and snow to the North State on Wednesday, closing Interstate 5 north of Redding and making mountain travel treacherous in Siskiyou County and other areas.

    The storm, which also prompted avalanche warnings on Mount Shasta and disrupted internet service, is expected to bring more rain Thursday and Friday, but snow levels will rise to 7,000 feet in the coming days.

    That should bring some relief to travelers heading up the I-5 corridor through the Sacramento River Canyon. Heavy snow forced authorities to close parts of the highway between Redding and the Oregon border on Wednesday.

    Follow Record Searchlight/Redding.com for real-time news on the storm. Motorists can check road conditions on Caltrans’ QuickMap site at https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov.

    This story will be updated Thursday with additional information as it becomes available. So come back regularly for news updates about stormy weather.

    Note to readers: If you appreciate the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight please consider subscribing yourself or give a subscription as a gift to someone you know.

    Caltrans and California Highway Patrol officials are no longer checking vehicles on Interstate 5 north of Redding.

    The highway, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Redding, was closed for much of Wednesday before authorities reopened northbound lanes late Wednesday night and began screening vehicles for chains.

    Late Thursday morning, officials had stopped survey vehicles on northbound I-5 at the Fawndale exit.

    – David Benda

    Rescue has been lashed by rain since the atmospheric river began Tuesday evening.

    Thursday morning, the storm dropped 5 inches of rain on the city and 6 inches on Shasta Dam, said meteorologist Bill Rasch of the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

    The weather service predicts another two inches will fall in Redding Saturday morning.

    That second storm will also bring more snow to the mountains in eastern Shasta County, Rasch said.

    – Jessica Skropanic

    Thousands of North State residents were without power Thursday morning, some for the second day in a row.

    Pacific Gas and Electric Company reported seven storm-related outages affecting at least 328 rural homes and businesses. Most are in northeastern Shasta County, including Burney, Round Mountain and the Lake Britton area. The utility also reported an outage in Whiskeytown.

    According to the Shasta County Office of Education, Montgomery Creek Elementary School (5.5 miles north of Round Mountain) will be closed on Thursday.

    At least 2,100 Pacific Power customers are without power for a second day, most in snowy areas north of Shasta-Siskiyou’s county line with Weed, along the Interstate 5 Corridor, that utility reported.

    And according to the Trinity Public Utilities District, about 1,539 Trinity County customers are without power, most of them in Weaverville and Lewiston.

    Utilities did not provide estimates for when the outages would be resolved, but said crews are working in the area to restore power as quickly as possible.

    – Jessica Skropanic

    Vehicles traveling on Interstate 5 north of Redding were still being checked for chains Thursday morning, the California Department of Transportation said.

    Caltrans said northbound traffic is being metered at the Fawndale exit. Officials allow 50 vehicles to pass per hour.

    Chains or snow tires are required on I-5 from 3 miles south of Dunsmuir to 2 miles north of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County

    Chains or snow tires are also required from 2 miles north of Mount Shasta to Weed.

    Meanwhile, Highway 299 West is closed to westbound traffic due to a rockslide about 10 miles west of the Highway 3 interchange in Trinity County.

    Chains or snow tires are required from three miles east of Montgomery Creek to 10 miles west of Burney on Highway 299 East in Shasta County.

    On Highway 44, chains are required for all vehicles, except four-wheel drive vehicles with snow tires on all four wheels, from approximately 10 miles west of Bogard Ranger Station to the Highway 36 interchange in Lassen County.

    – David Benda

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