2/22/23 10:38 a.m. – Please find the latest update for Wednesday, Feb. 22, here. We are no longer updating below.
2/21/23 4:14 p.m. — Power has been restored for PG&E customers in Anderson Valley. Power remains out for over 2,600 customers, Caspar, Mendocino, Little River and parts of western Fort Bragg. No estimated time of restoration has been reported by PG&E. Customers can monitor outages and restoration times here.
2/21/23 2:28 p.m. — High winds have caused the first major power PG&E outages in the county:
- Over 2,600 customers without power in Caspar, Mendocino and Little River as of 1:04 p.m.
- Over 1,100 customers without power in Philo, Boonville and Yorkville as of 1:42 p.m.
- 200 customers without power in Fort Bragg as of 2:07 p.m.
According to Windy.com, Mendocino saw wind gusts of 37 m.p.h. and Boonville wind gusts of 43 m.p.h. at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12. PG&E crews are en route to assess the outages. No time of estimated power restoration has been announced. Customers can monitor outages and restoration times here.
2/21/23 1:03 p.m. — As winds pick up and rain starts to make an appearance in north Mendocino County, Leggett Valley Unified School District (LVUSD) schools announced that schools may be closed Wednesday, Feb. 22, due to weather and road conditions. Families are being asked to monitor closures here.
MENDOCINO Co., 2/20/23 – After a springlike weekend, winter weather returns in full force to Mendocino County. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 21, a mix of wind, rain, hail and snow will arrive in the region.
Four National Weather Service Eureka (NWS Eureka) wind advisories will be in place for the entire county starting at 10 a.m. on the coast and inland by Tuesday afternoon. Countywide, winds will range from 25 to 35 mph. The coast may see gusts up to 50 mph and inland 60 mph. The many wind advisories are due to the diverse microclimates of Mendocino County. By 4 a.m. Wednesday Feb. 22, all the wind advisories will expire. One thing to be sure of: it will be windy Tuesday no matter where you are in the county. Windy conditions may lead to downed trees and possible power outages.
There is a chance of showers starting Tuesday morning and thunderstorms and hail in some areas by evening. Snow will begin to make an appearance at elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 ft.
On the coast, Fort Bragg may see the start of rain showers after 10 a.m. and in Point Arena, showers will start after 4 p.m. The entire coast may witness thunderstorms Tuesday night, with a dash of hail thrown into the mix. Rain and thunderstorms will continue along the coast through Wednesday, Feb. 22, night. Inland, showers will arrive after 10 a.m. on Wednesday in Covelo and after 4 p.m. Wednesday in Leggett. Anderson Valley, Ukiah, and Willits may see rain showers in the evening.
NWS Eureka has issued a High Surf Advisory for the entire coast from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Breaking waves 18 to 22 feet are expected. The agency advises against beachcombing, given waves can be erratic and unpredictable, with a danger of sweeping people into the ocean. Mariners should use extreme caution or stay in port.
Inland, rain will begin to transition into snow beginning Tuesday night. As a result, NWS Eureka has issued a winter weather advisory for northwestern interior Mendocino County (including Covelo, Laytonville, Leggett, Potter Valley, and Willits) from 4 p.m. Tuesday until 4 p.m. Thursday. The areas under the advisory can expect accumulations of 1 to 4 inches and wind gusts up to 55 mph. NWS Eureka has also issued a winter weather advisory for the entire Mendocino Coast from 7 p.m. Wednesday until 10 a.m. Thursday. The coast may see up to 1 inch of snow.
Despite only parts of the county being under winter weather advisories, the entire county will see snow starting Tuesday evening that transitions into chances of rain and/or snow through the weekend. NWS Eureka forecasts that elevations as low as 500 ft. may see snow.
According to NWS Eureka, the weather will have “significant impacts on travel at the coast and across the mountains” including Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Lake, and Del Norte counties. Conditions may vary widely across North Coast microclimates, and on your travel routes, so we’ve included a list of useful resources below to keep you updated. You can check for the specific forecast for your neighborhood and on current road conditions as they develop.
Mendocino Voice Winter weather resources:
- Our guide for winter weather emergency and preparedness info — we recommend you bookmark this
- Check your specific forecast at this link along with the National Weather Service advisories and warnings, as well as their Facebook page and their Twitter page
- Check the CalTrans QuickMap for current road closures or call 1-800-GAS-ROAD
- Check for current accidents at the CHP traffic update page
- Caltrans traffic cameras can be seen here, and here are the PG&E cameras
- You can also check out the Weather Underground to look for weather stations in your area
- Check the PG&E current outage map to find or report power outages
- NWS has flood stage predictions here; and you can find USGS current streamflow information here
- NWS is seeking snowfall reports, and you can submit them to this website.
- We recommend meteorologist Daniel Swain’s Weather West Blog as a good place to find more in-depth current weather analysis
Sarah Stierch covers wildfires, breaking news, and more for The Mendocino Voice. You can follow Stierch on Twitter and learn more about her work and donate to her directly at here. Contact Stierch at [email protected]. The Voice maintains editorial control and independence.
School closure link is broken. Seems that a message from the intended page, was pasted into the link, instead of the address.