High Winds, Rain, Snow, Wreak Havoc Across the State
UTAH – April 14, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – It was four seasons in a day Tuesday as the
weather went from sun to wind to rain to snow. The day began with blue skies and mild temperatures of around 70 degrees.
High winds then wreaked havoc across the state, knocking over several semi-trucks in Tooele on I-80, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. There was one fatality and at least 25 injuries, the UHP said.
Westbound I-80 is closed at MM-99 due to winds and crashes, traffic is being re-routed to SR-36.
It is set to re-open at around 7 p.m. UDOT spokesman John Gleason said one of his team described the scene as ‘raining mud,’ and that may have played a large part in the incidents. Eastbound I-80 re-opened at around 5 p.m.
Gusts on I-15 at the Point of the Mountain and across the state are over 60 mph and drivers are urged to use caution, UDOT tweeted. Gusts of 92 mph were reported in Parleys, with 82 mph gusts just east of Dugway, and 81 mph in Wendover.
At around 6 p.m. Rocky Mountain Power reported scattered outages throughout the Salt Lake Metro area impacting approximately 8,004 customers, down from 9,070 earlier. There were also outages in Garden City, Lakewood, Sutherland, Delta, Abraham, Clinton, Roy and Sunset.
If motorists encounter signal lights that are not working they should be treated as a four-way stop.
There are also delays on FrontRunner and TRAX trains due to power outages and multiple issues at gate crossings.
The cold front sweeping the state brought rain and the snow to the mountains and valley floors Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The storm will bring 8-16 inches of snow to the Wasatch Mountains and an estimated 2-4 inches of snow to the valley floor.
