Snow in northern California snarls traffic on I-5

YREKA, Calif. – Heavy snow south of the Oregon-California border is causing delays on Interstate 5.

Tuesday evening, the Oregon Department of Transportation told travelers to expect extreme winter conditions through Thursday. The notice included all I-5 mountain passes from Mt. Shasta north to Canyon Mountain. Snow was expected on all Cascade Mountain passes and the Highway 97 corridor.

“Please slow down. We’ve already witnessed too many crashes because drivers were driving too fast for the conditions,” said ODOT Assistant District Manager Jeremiah Griffin. “We’re doing our best to keep up with the snow and ice.”

Early Wednesday morning, ODOT announced southbound commercial traffic on I-5 was being held at Ashland due to heavy snow south of Redding, California. Chains were required for all southbound vehicles unless they had four-wheel drive.

Eventually, all southbound traffic was stopped at Yreka. That hold on traffic was lifted by 9:10 a.m. However, southbound commercial trucks were stopped at Ashland until about 3:10 p.m.

In northern California, Caltrans closed I-5 north of Redding.

For the latest updates on road conditions, visit http://www.tripcheck.com or http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov