Northern California faces a winter storm expected to bring feet of snow, strong winds, traffic delays and more.

CALIFORNIA, USA — A winter storm, which arrived Sunday afternoon and is expected to continue through Wednesday, is heavily impacting Northern California. 

Authorities have said to postpone or delay travel if possible, and Monday morning brought road closures, chain controls, an avalanche watch and a significant power outage.


Interstate 80 traffic released, other impacts

As of around 12:50 p.m. Monday, vehicle traffic was released on Interstate 80 in both directions, per a news release from Caltrans.

Traffic was being held in both directions due to multiple spinouts and crashes since around 11:40 a.m. It was being held eastbound at the Nevada state line and westbound down to Colfax, California officials said.  The Nevada Department of Transportation said traffic had been backed up in Gold Ranch.

Chain controls are in effect as far west as Nevada City and Meadow Vista, the Caltrans QuickMap indicates.

In Folsom, police said Sibley Street will be closed between Blue Ravine Road and Levy Road due to flooding until about 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Related: Rain-soaked roads lead to multiple crashes in Sacramento area


Avalanche watch

An avalanche watch is in effect for the central Sierra through around 5 a.m. Tuesday, per the Sierra Avalanche Center. Backcountry travelers could easily trigger large avalanches Monday, especially once over six inches of new snowfall is surpassed, officials wrote.

“Consider avoiding avalanche terrain in areas where clues to unstable snow are present, such as slopes filling in with drifting snow, snow surface cracking, or snowpack collapses,” the Sierra Avalanche Center said in their notice.


Calaveras County power outage

Approximately 3,526 people are without power in Calaveras County due to an outage that is weather-related, according to PG&E.

The outage first reported around 11:55 p.m. Sunday was unplanned, and PG&E officials said they shut off power to make an urgent repair safely.

Power is expected to be restored by 4 p.m. Monday.

WATCH MORE: The economic price of the Yuba County water pipe break

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