Winter Storm — Kern Cty Mtns, California

2019-02-17 to 2019-02-18 · Kern Cty Mtns, California

Event narrative

Interstate 5 was closed by California Highway Patrol between Grapevine and Castaic for several hours between the early evening of February 17 to the late morning of February 18 due to refreezing of rain and wet snow which led to the formation of black ice on several roads in the Kern County Mountains. Several vehicles spun out or crashed due to the black ice on Interstate 5.

Wider weather episode

Showers and winds diminished across the area during the evening of February 17 as skies cleared out. This resulted in the freezing of leftover rain and melted snow on several roads which resulted in several roads in the Kern County Mountains being closed for several hours overnight and into the morning hours of February 18. Black ice also resulted in a fatal two vehicle accident near Oakhurst on State Route 49 during the morning of February 18.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 798140. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.