Northbound Interstate 5 is closed about 10 miles north of Redding at the Fawndale exit, the California Department of Transportation announced Wednesday night.
The highway closure came as a constant winter mix of snow and rain was falling. The California Highway Patrol is on the scene, Caltrans said.
The CHP had been checking chains on all vehicles going north on I-5, starting in Fawndale, after the storm began clogging up traffic.
The storm was dumping heavy snow north of Shasta Lake at elevations as low as 2,800 feet, according to the National Weather Service. On Wednesday, more than two inches of new snow fell at 5 p.m. on I-5. Motorists should be aware of slippery road conditions.
The California Department of Transportation also closed Highway 299 in Trinity County Wednesday after a series of crashes caused by a storm.
Winter storms are dumping snow and heavy rain on the area, Caltrans said Wednesday afternoon. The agency closed part of the highway near Oregon Mountain Summit, three miles west of Weaverville.
More snow and rain are in the forecast for Wednesday night, on top of the already heavy snowfall in the mountains, Caltrans reported. Crews are monitoring the area for mudslides, rock slides, and flash flooding, especially in the burn scars along the highway.
Traffic is slow and roads are slippery in areas across the northern state due to winter weather.
In Siskiyou County, Highway 96 is open to one-way traffic only in an area four miles west of Happy Camp after a rock and mudslide. “This portion of the highway is highly susceptible to additional rockfall activity and additional closures may occur in the future,” Caltrans announced.
Caltrans recommends that people check road conditions at QuickMap.dot.ca.gov before traveling.
When will the storm end?
Four inches of snow fell on Sims Road near I-5 in northern Shasta County, said meteorologist Robert Baruffaldi with the Sacramento branch of the Weather Service. More snow is on the way Wednesday night: up to two to three inches.
Redding received a quarter-inch of rain at 6 p.m. Wednesday, he said. He hopes a couple of tenths of an inch more by the time the storm ends tonight.
“It’s a cold rain,” so expect frost overnight, Baruffaldi said. Temperatures will drop as low as 29 degrees in Redding, 26 degrees in Mount Shasta.
The storm should abate around 10 p.m. Wednesday along the I-5 corridor, Baruffaldi said. In eastern Shasta County, including Burney and the surrounding basin, the storm should end around midnight.
Jessica Skropanic is a feature reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues, and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter@RS_JSkropanic and inFacebook. Join Jessica in the Salt! no lime Recreation group on Facebook. To support and sustain this work,please sign up today. Thanks.