Interstate 5 and Highway 58 have been closed because of snow.
The CHP closed Interstate 5 at about 5:20. Northbound traffic is stopped at Smokey Bear Road in Los Angeles County, and southbound traffic is closed at the base of the Grapevine 35 miles south of Bakersfield.
Highway 58 was closed between Towerline Road and Mojave.
The CHP reported heavy snow made driving conditions treacherous around 5 p.m. There were at least three major accidents on Highway 58 between Keene and Mojave at the time.
When several cars crashed in different places between Lebec and Gorman, officers shut the Interstate.
The storm was expected to bring Kern County its lowest snow levels of the season, as light flurries began to fall on the Grapevine along Interstate 5 around 1 a.m.
Between 6 inches to a foot of snow was expected in the mountain areas with levels dropping to between 2,500 and 3,000 feet.
"One thing is for sure it will be a very cold system," a forecaster with the National Weather Service noted in discussion posted on the organization's Web site Friday.
A second storm is set to arrive Wednesday into Thursday with warmer temperatures and snow levels near 5,500 feet, noted KGET forecaster Kevin Charette.
