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SALT LAKE CITY -- A winter storm has led to scattered power outages and created some dangerous conditions on roads around the Wasatch Front.
All over the Salt Lake Valley, surface streets were covered with several inches of snow for the morning commute. The east bench reported between 6-12 inches, with 3-6 inches in Lehi. In Cottonwood Heights, nearly 2 feet of snowfall made it difficult to get around.
Thousands without power
Rocky Mountain Power says at the height of the storm about 1,700 customers were without power. As of 11:30 a.m., that total grew to 5,000 homes on the Wasatch Front without power.
In many cases snow-laden trees took out power lines, but the number jumped because of a Midvale outage that happened about 9:30 Tuesday morning. Power is expected to be restored there by 1:00 pm, but Rocky Mountain said it could take most of the day to get all the power restored.
Slick roads tangle morning commute
Besides power outages, snow-packed and slick roads also created a problem. The Utah Highway Patrol responded to 28 crashes in the Salt Lake Valley between midnight and 6 a.m. Tuesday. In all, the UHP says it has responded to more than 70 crashes all along the Wasatch Front.
Along the freeways there was about 2-3 inches of snow accumulation but the snow created slushy conditions, making the commute dangerous Tuesday morning. The biggest trouble spots in were the on, off and connector ramps, which were very slick and/or snow-covered.
On the east bench snow plows spent the morning trying to keep up with clearing the roads, but the snow was coming down too fast and cars were spinning out.
An employee of Skyline Inn began shoveling snow around midnight and has spent the morning helping neighbors and struggling drivers on the East Bench of Salt Lake City.
"I'm trying to do as much as I can to help everybody, cars that are stuck out here on the corner," he said.
A car and UTA bus collided on I-15 early Tuesday morning. The Utah Highway Patrol says a woman was driving northbound near 2700 South when her car spun out due to icy road conditions. A UTA bus slammed into her vehicle. The car's driver was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. No one was on the bus at the time of the accident.
The Utah Department of Transportation has issued an emergency alert for vehicles traveling in the canyons.
- Big and Little Cottonwood canyons are restricted to vehicles with 4x4 or chains only.
- 4x4 or chains are recommended on I-70. Currently there is low visibility over the Clear Creek Canyon summit.
- SR-143 Brian Head to Mammoth Creek Road is closed. There is currently no estimate on when the road will reopen.
The morning commute looked good on the I-215 east belt route but multiple crashes and slide offs were reported on the west belt route, the 2100 South freeway and I-15.
For up-to-date traffic conditions, visit the KSL Traffic Center.
For the latest weather forecast, visit the KSL Weather Center.
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Story compiled with contributions from Shara Park, Andrew Adams and Randall Jeppesen.
