Wind, rain and lots of snow: Here’s what fell in Northern California ahead of Thanksgiving
You may have a pass to tell your relatives you won’t make it Thursday.
In the Valley, trees are down. In the mountains, roads are closed. And up and down the state, power outages made those cooking rituals a little bit more frustrating.
The first spell of winter weather hit Northern California in a big way Tuesday, and the remnants of the first of two storms lingered in the Sierra Nevada on Wednesday morning.
In other words, it’s not over yet.
Gusty winds, heavy snowfall and more rain is in the forecast heading into Thanksgiving, affecting road conditions across the north state.
Here’s what you need to know heading into the holiday:
How much rain and snow fell?
Mount Shasta City in Siskiyou County saw the most rain from the storm, taking on 1.75 inches as of 4 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Blue Canyon along Interstate 80, had the second highest rainfall in the region at 1.07 inches before 17 inches of snow fell.
Communities in the north end of the Sacramento Valley also had a good amount of rainfall, taking on .74 inches in Redding and .66 inches in Paradise in the 24-hour period ending at 4 a.m., the weather service said.
Sacramento saw healthy doses of rain, too. The weather service said .40 inches of rain fell at the downtown Sacramento gauge through 4 a.m. and .24 inches fell during the same 24-hour period at Sacramento International Airport, where holiday travel is picking up Wednesday morning. Sacramento Executive Airport received .38 inches.
“This is pretty seasonal,” said Emily Heller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “It’s definitely not out of the ordinary.”
The storm didn’t bring just rain. Wind gusts reached 50 mph in some areas, and caused power outages over Tuesday night that affected 50,000 people in nine counties around the region.
About 19,000 customers, mostly in PG&E’s foothill territories, are currently without power.
Areas in the Sierra Nevada also took on several inches of snow. Ski resorts such as Squaw Valley received 18 inches of snow by Wednesday morning, and Tahoe Donner received 16 inches.
Meanwhile, areas about 10 miles north of Redding received about 5 inches of snow during the storm.
Latest doppler radar loop for Northern California
How much more is coming?
The storm will continue to roll through the region, mainly in the foothills, but not with the same intensity as Tuesday, the agency said.
“The rain is definitely going to slacken off for today,” Heller said. “Things in the Sacramento area are starting to wind down.”
While there is a good chance of showers in the Sacramento area Wednesday, Heller said they would be scattered showers dropping minimal rain compared to Tuesday’s precipitation totals.
Winds are expected to die down, too, she said.
The main weather impact heading into the Thanksgiving holiday will be continued snowfall on the western slopes the Sierra Nevada making travel hazardous, according to a Wednesday morning tweet from the weather service.
Between 12 to 18 inches of snow is expected to fall on Donner Pass, Carson Pass, Ebbetts Pass, Sonora Pass and Tioga Pass, creating a “significant reduction in visibility with whiteout conditions at times,” weather service said.
Travelers should prepare for chain controls to be in effect above elevations of 1,500 feet, and be on the look out for downed tree branches and other road hazards.
Road closures north and south
A number of road closures remain in effect and crews are working to clear roads from Siskiyou County in the north to Kern County in the south.
Interstate 5 remains closed to traffic between Yreka and Redding “due (to) the large number of vehicles spun out along the interstate,” Caltrans said on Twitter. “Those vehicles must be removed in order to get traffic flowing normally and the road plowed. There is no ETA for reopening.”
Southbound I-5 is open.
The CHP’s Bakersfield office said just before 7 a.m. that its officers were gearing up for snow on the Grapevine, the gateway to Los Angeles through the Tehachapi mountains. They also said that Highway 99 at I-5 is closed due to flooding, but one lane was later reopened. Lanes 1 and 2 on southbound Highway 99 are still closed.
Traffic on westbound Interstate 80 was briefly closed from Truckee to Nyack, and chain controls are in effect from Colfax to the Nevada State line, Caltrans said. A number of smaller roadways are closed in Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador and Alpine counties due to spin-outs and white-out conditions.
Eastbound I-80 was reopened later Wednesday morning to passenger vehicles only.
“Trucks are being turned at Applegate and state line due to traction issues over the summit,” according to a Wednesday morning update from Caltrans.
“The best thing you can do if you’re traveling for the holiday is leave early, and try not to be in a hurry,” said Chris Fiore, Communications Manager for the City of South Lake Tahoe. “We’re expecting more snow throughout the day and the toward the end of the weekend. It’s important to stay weather aware, especially if your plans involve travel.”
Highway 20 had reopened in Nevada City to the I-80 junction to passenger vehicles only, too, Caltrans said. And traffic is currently at a standstill on Highway 89 about 4 miles outside South Lake Tahoe as crews work to recover a vehicle. There is not estimated time of reopening.
Airport expecting ‘record’ crowds
Sacramento International Airport spokeswoman Samantha Mott told local news outlets Wednesday morning airport staff were expecting a record number of crowds traveling for the holiday.
By Wednesday morning, security lines at the airport were growing long as passengers tried to get out of Sacramento early, ahead of more inclement weather.
Mott told Fox40 seven passenger planes from Southwest and Alaska Airlines along with two cargo planes had been rerouted through Sacramento due to power outages at Oakland International Airport, which had a major outage Tuesday night.
Some of those planes were from Oakland International Airport where a power outage after 6 p.m. Tuesday caused a terminal to grind to a halt, forcing passengers to wait in long lines until backup generators came on after 7 p.m.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Wind, rain and lots of snow: Here’s what fell in Northern California ahead of Thanksgiving."