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Thursday night closures:- I-15 near Beaver at milepost 110 closed in both directions. Utah Highway Patrol says 8 inches of snow fell in one hour. Plows were unable to keep up.
- Two runways at the Salt Lake International Airport reopened after severe weather closed all runways earlier in the evening. Seventeen flights were diverted and four incoming flights were canceled. Airport officials say the most accurate way to check flight status is to visit airlines' Web sites. People expecting outgoing or incoming flights should anticipate delays.
- S.R. 30 from Tremonton to Logan. UHP reported three jackknifed semis on the road.
- I-84 at the Utah-Idaho border
- S.R. 92 to Highland, and through American Fork Canyon at milepost 7
- I-80 near the Nevada border closed to high profile vehicles.
- I-80 in Parley's Canyon and U.S. 89 through Sardine Canyon restricted to semis. Four wheel drive or chains required on other vehicles.
- 7800 South from 5200 to 6700 West in West Jordan
- Little Cottonwood Canyon closed for avalanche control until sometime Friday. Four wheel drive and chains required for vehicles in Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
- S.R. 14
- North Ogden Divide Road closed by snowslide until probably Monday
- For more road closures, restrictions and warnings, see the UDOT link on this page. Also, check KSL TV 5, KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and KSL.com for updates Friday morning.
- Due to hazardous road conditions, JBS Miller Beef in Hyrum has canceled the production shift scheduled for Friday. A regular shift has been scheduled for Saturday.
A winter storm is walloping Utah with rain, snow, wind and whiteout conditions. The storm delivered a white Christmas, treacherous travel conditions and closed runways at the Salt Lake International Airport for a time.
The storm hit in two bursts; one Thursday morning and another Thursday night. Numerous car crashes and slide-offs were reported in many parts of the state since the storm blew in Thursday morning. A number of roads have been closed due to icy conditions and blowing and drifting snow.
Two runways at the Salt Lake International Airport reopened Thursday night and the third was being deiced after severe weather closed all the runways earlier. The Cache County Sheriff's Office urged residents there to stay off the roads. Whiteout conditions made it difficult for troopers to respond to calls.
Snow and heavy winds kicked up curtains of blinding snow in places like Provo, near Point of the Mountain, West Jordan and Ogden. High wind on I-80 forced officials to close the interstate to high-profile vehicles like semis, from Tooele to Wendover. Officials warn that canyon roads are very icy, as well.
West Jordan got an estimated 12 inches of snow Thursday morning, bringing things to a near standstill. Police closed 7800 South from 5200 to 6700 West when wind kicked up blinding snow.
Brian Farnsworth witnessed an accident. "It ices up real quick and it pushes your tires," he said. Drivers heading to holiday celebrations slowed down considerably, but for some it still wasn't enough.
Farnsworth said, "We weren't going that fast, and they weren't speeding at the time. But the SUV lost control. There was a wind gust I believe at the time, and he turned and hit the other car. It took them into the guardrail."
The Utah Department of Transportation said I-15 in both directions was icy and snow-packed from south of Draper through Utah County. In Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, chains or four wheel drive were required.
High winds are likely to blame for a semi rollover that shut down I-80 near Saltair for a time. The driver was picked up by medical helicopter in critical condition. UHP's Trooper Cody McCoy said, "Because of the high winds, they weren't sure what hospital they'd be able to fly into."
Ogden got a heaping of snow as well. Poor visibility on Harrison Boulevard slowed traffic to just a few miles per hour.
Other snow totals as of Thursday morning included 9 inches at the Snowbasin ski resort near Ogden, 7 inches in Mountain Green, 8 inches in Herriman and 6 inches in both Saratoga Springs and Kanab.
Thursday's storm and those that slammed us earlier this week have made it very dangerous in the mountains. The Utah Avalanche Center increased the slide risk to high in all parts of the state.
Jim Parks of the Weber County Roads Department says the North Ogden Divide Road is closed due to a snow slide. No one was caught in the slide, but the road will remain closed "until further notice," which likely means Monday.
The avalanche center says new snow is packing on top of an older, weaker snowpack, increasing the chance for slides. The center is warning people to stay out of the backcountry areas and away from steeper slopes where snow could break loose.
In the past couple of weeks, three people have been killed by avalanches.
Several power outages were reported around the state Thursday. Rocky Mountain Power said 4,900 customers were without power Thursday evening, mostly in Cedar City and the Kearns area.
Thursday morning, crews restored power to an estimated 10,000 customers in West Jordan. Rocky Mountain Power says the problem was at the Hoggard substation located at 5800 West and 7800 South. That outage lasted about an hour.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
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