This is a developing situation and information may change. We’ll update this article as more information becomes available. The most recent information will be updated at the top of the article, with the earlier reports below.
Editor’s note: For the latest storm coverage for Saturday, Feb. 25, read our article here.
2/24/23 7:30 p.m. — The closure of U.S. Highway 101 will continue overnight; read more about the the 101 highway closure in our article here. The road has been opened north of Willits, but is closed north of Laytonville. Power has been restored for a number of the larger outages, including in Laytonville and the Point Arena area. Road conditions remain messy, with rocks reported down in State Route 162, and icy roads are likely overnight as temperatures are expected to remain below freezing.
Cold weather is expected to continue Saturday night, and another storm system is forecast beginning Sunday, with more snow, although at higher elevations than the last couple days.
We’ve also put together some photos from the storm here.
2/24/23 3:24 p.m. — State Route 175 in Hopland is closed in both directions from Buckman Dr., just east of the rancheria, to State Route 29 in Lake County due to road conditions. There is no estimated time of reopening. You can monitor state road conditions here.
Potter Valley High School’s Winter Formal, scheduled Saturday, Feb. 25, has been canceled. Additionally, tonight’s performance of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by the Willits Community Theatre has been rescheduled for Sunday, Feb. 26. Ticket holders can contact the theater for a refund. Hillside Clinic in Ukiah, operated by Mendocino Community Health Centers, is closed today after a power outage. The Dora Street location is open. Closures and cancellations continue throughout the county – be sure to call ahead!
2/24/23 2:25 p.m. — Mendocino County Social Services announced that households that have experienced a loss of food purchased with CalFresh dollars due to natural disasters – including extended power outages – may be eligible for replacement CalFresh funds. More information is available here.
Mendocino College’s Ukiah campus is closed due to the power outage in Ukiah that resulted in thousands of city PG&E customers being without power for over an hour today. The campus gates will be locked at 4 p.m. and reopen at 7 a.m. Saturday, Feb 25.
Residents of Timberline Rd. in Willits are asking drivers not to use the road for winter joy riding due to the downed power lines and trees along the road. Today alone, three trucks have been in accidents or gotten stuck on Timberline requiring assistance.
Willits residents looking for sleds, a hot commodity today, can head over to Les Schwab Tire Center (1565 S. Main St., (707) 459-5938) to purchase blown-up inner tubes for sledding fun.
2/24/23 1:50- p.m. — After an approximately hour long power outage the majority of Ukiah PG&E customers have power again. Power outages remain for over 1,000 across the county, including unincorporated Ukiah and the Laytonville area. You can see the full outage map here.
2/24/23 12 p.m. — New outages, one of which began shortly after 10 a.m. this morning is impacting more than 1,730 PG&E customers in the Ukiah area, leading to the closure of Mendocino College for the day. Additional outages remain ongoing including more than 1,000 customers the Willits/Brooktrails area, more than 900 in Laytonville, more than 100 in Hopland, 835 in the Point Arena area, and a number of smaller outages around the county. You can see the full outage map here.
A number of stores in these locations are open and offering warm spaces for residents to use while waiting for power to be restored.
State Route 128 has been reopened as has Highway 1 at Rockport; Highway 101 remains closed north of Willits at Reynolds Highway. There are ongoing traffic incidents around the county so remain cautious if you are traveling, however conditions are improving as temperatures increase and road crews continue clearing.
2/24/23 11:15 a.m. — Emergency crews are working hard to clear roadways around the county, but traffic continues to be impacted. As of now, State Route 128 is closed between Robinson Creek Road and Mountain House Road, but the road has been plowed and may reopen soon as conditions are improving. There are a number of locations with only road in use or one-way traffic, and 101 remains closed north of Willits.
There are also a number of ongoing outages and hundreds of PG&E customers remain without power. However, PG&E crews are working on downed lines and other equipment issues around the county. Conditions are changing rapidly so we recommend checking the links at the bottom of the article for current road incidents and outages in your specific area.
MENDOCINO Co., 2/24/23 — Residents across Northern California and Mendocino County woke up to several inches of snow this morning, and snow is expected to continue until at least 9 a.m. The storm is forecast to decrease this morning, and the winter storm warning will expire at 10 a.m., but another storm system is expected to hit the North Coast beginning Sunday, and temperatures will remain below average and below freezing in the coming days.
We’ll keep you updated on the forecast, and you can check for your specific location here. We’ve also included some additional resources at the end of the article — plus we’ll keep you updated throughout the storm, and we have a winter weather info guide we recommend you bookmark.
U.S. Highway 101 remains closed north of Willits at Reynolds Highway to the junction of State Route 271 near Piercy and Highway 1 is closed at Rockport Street. Other roads throughout the county are impacted, with situations ranging from trees down on Fishrock Road, and emergency responders are continuing to clear roadways and help remove stranded vehicles this morning. Many roads are icy due to the ongoing precipitation and freezing temperatures, so please take caution if you are driving this morning. You can check for the status of individual roads here.
There are currently power outages impacting more than 2,000 customers across Mendocino County and the North Coast, including nearly 400 in the Redwood Valley area, more than 1000 customers in the Willits area, 430 customers in Albion, and a number of smaller outages, many which began Thursday evening as the snow began to accumulate. PG&E is updating information about individual outages here.
A number of north county schools are canceled, and Ukiah Unified will be starting classes late, a number of business are closed are operating on restricted hours due to the weather, and many events have been cancelled — we recommend calling ahead if you’re planning to be out and about today.
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
