LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A heavy winter storm barreled in from the tropical Pacific on Sunday, dropping heavy rain and — in some areas — snow and pummeling Lake County with high winds.

The atmospheric river storm, which began early Sunday, continued wreaking damage most of the day.

On Sunday morning, areas including Cobb and Kelseyville found themselves under a blanket of snow, with snow plows working roadways in those locations.

Snow also was reported along Highway 20 near Highway 16 east of Clearlake Oaks.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services said a high wind warning issued for Lake County, which remains in effect until Sunday night, was upgraded due to guests of 50 miles per hour on the north end of the lake and gusts of up to 70 miles per hour over ridges.

Due to the conditions, OES urged people to refrain from unnecessary travel, treat all lines down as live and report them, and check in on neighbors, especially those who may not have access to internet or phone services.

The conditions led to a steady stream of reports of downed trees, trees into houses, fallen power lines and flooding throughout the day.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, a tree was reported to be down and blocking Highway 20 at Burpee Drive in Nice.

Portions of Highway 20 also were partially flooded between Nice and Lucerne throughout the day.

Then just after 4 p.m. Sunday, the Lakeport Police Department said there were multiple roadways closed in the city due to the ongoing storm, with damage reported at Library Park.

Police said N. Main Street was closed from Clearlake Avenue to Sixteenth Street, with live power lines down. That closure is expected to last for several hours, into Sunday night.

Park Street was closed from Second to Third Street, due to downed trees and damage. The city said it's expected to last into Monday.

Authorities asked people to stay out of the area.

The National Weather Service said more heavy rain — and possibly a thunderstorm — are expected into Sunday night, with wind gusts of about 30 miles per hour, raising concerns about the potential for more downed trees and power lines.

The agency issued updated high wind warning and flood watches for Lake County on Sunday. Both remain in effect until Sunday night.

On Monday, the storm is supposed to taper off, with the National Weather Service reporting that chances of rain are in the forecast for the rest of the week.

Pacific Gas and Electric reported hundreds of outages in their vast coverage area on Sunday.

In Lake County, there were more than a dozen outages on the company’s outage map as of 3 p.m., from Kelseyville and Cobb to the Northshore and north of Upper Lake — all attributed to the storm.

Based on the map, about 2,000 customers appeared to be out of power at that point.

Elsewhere around the state, the heavy storm prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency across eight Southern California counties which were taking a hard hit.

Road conditions

As of 4:15 p.m. Sunday, road hazards and closures were reported by the California Highway Patrol and the Lake County Public Works Department’s Road Division in the following locations:

Chains:

• Elk Mountain Road: Chains/four-wheel drive recommended.

Hazards:

• Westlake Drive and Highway 29, north Lakeport: Unspecified.
• Grove Street at Highway 20, Lucerne: Tree fell on a parked vehicle.
• 1005 Nice Lucerne Cutoff Road, Nice: Tree into a vehicle.
• 5115 Highway 20, Lucerne: Large tree blocking entire roadway.

Closures:

• Highway 20 at Burpee Drive, Nice: Fallen tree across the roadway.
• Highway 175 at Salmina Road: Multiple trees across the roadway with lines down.
• Bartlett Springs Road at Highway 20, Lucerne: Closed by Cal Fire.
• Red Hills Road at Highway 29, Kelseyville: Unspecified, likely due to snow.
• Black Oak Drive, Cobb: Roadway closed due to a downed tree.
• Spruce Grove Road Extension, Hidden Valley Lake: Closed near USS Liberty Lane (Quarry Road) due to road slipout.
• Dry Creek Cutoff Road, Middletown: Seasonal road closure at the low water crossing.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.