LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Winter weather was back in full force on Wednesday, as rain and snow was reported around the county.

On Wednesday the National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for interior Northern California, including Lake County.

The agency said a strong winter storm was continuing to bring snow to the mountains and foothills with showers and thunderstorms possible in the Central Valley.

Another winter storm is expected to affect Northern California on Thursday and Friday, with the National Weather Service predicting more snow in the mountains, with snow levels falling to about 1,600 feet.

There were reports from county residents on Wednesday afternoon of snow falling in areas from Cobb to Lakeport to areas of the Northshore extending down to Clearlake Oaks. Hail was reported near Middletown.

The California Highway Patrol reported snow on the Glasgow Grade on Highway 29 near Lower Lake Wednesday evening, with Caltrans sanding the area to keep it safe for motorists.

Earlier in the day the county Public Works Department issued an advisory regarding area road closures.

County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said road crews had dealt for a good part of the day with a closure on Scotts Valley Road near English Ditch at mile post marker 3.5. The closure resulted from flooding, with cars detoured onto Hendricks Road.

Crews had opened and closed the road three or four times Wednesday as they responded to water levels going up and down, Stangland said. But by day's end the road was once again open.

Low water crossings, usually closed due to seasonal water flows, also were in place in Kelseyville, where Stangland said Adobe Creek crossing at Merritt Road, Dry Creek Cutoff and Dorn Crossing on Kelsey Creek were closed.

Stangland said the Adobe Creek crossing will reopen as soon as the water levels go down.

Elk Mountain Road was open Wednesday, “But that could change at any time” due to snow levels, Stangland said.

Bartlett Springs Road also remained open but drivers were urged to take chains or four-wheel drive if going into the area due to snow in the higher elevations. Stangland said road crews would work on plowing Bartlett Springs on Thursday.

Crews were working on repairing a landslide that had happened awhile ago on Twin Valley Road, which is about 15 miles out on Bartlett Springs, but Stangland said the weather had halted that work.

Even when the weather eases up, Stangland said the road division still has to stay vigilant.

“We're on watch all the time just because even after the storms are over with, as the ground starts to dry, the rocks start to pop loose,” he said.

In areas like Bartlett Springs, those weather-related road issues are part of a “neverending battle,” he added.

Weather-related issues also were keeping firefighters busier than normal on Wednesday.

Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief said on Wednesday afternoon he'd experienced an extremely busy between responding to public assists and a structure fire.

In one public assist case an elderly woman's back door blew open and rain came pouring in, with firefighters having to respond to help get the door closed, he said.

“It has been crazy,” he said, calling it the “quickest 48 hours ever.”

Stangland, monitoring the weather reports, said six-tenths of an inch of rain is predicted in the county on Thursday, with no significant rain until next Monday.

“When it clears up it's going to freeze over again,” Stangland said, with freezing levels expected to drop next Tuesday to about 2,500 feet before going back to between 3,000 and 3,500 feet.

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