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NORTHERN UTAH -- Employees of a car dealership in Murray showed up to work Wednesday morning to find the high winds caused some major damage. Those winds also wreaked havoc on the morning commute.
According to the National Weather Service, winds were between 30 and 40 miles per hour Wednesday morning, with some gusts over 55 miles per hour. Wen you combine those high winds with rain -- and, in some areas, snow -- it's just a melting pot of potential danger.
At the Mike Hale Acura dealership in Murray, wind gusts knocked over a light pole, and it smashed right on top of a car.
"I got here at 6:45 this morning, and happened to be turning here at the intersection. [I] noticed the lights were facing out and not down. It was a little confusing," said Andy Zeisler, service manager at Mike Hale Acura.
In Smithfield, wind gusts uprooted a 90-year-old pine tree, sending it crashing onto a house. Winds also knocked down two steel barns, sending dozens of cattle running loose.
Meanwhile, strong wind gusts at the Utah County side of Point of the Mountain turned over an empty utility trailer being pulled behind a pickup truck.
Utah Highway Patrol trooper Scott Pugmire says they didn't even try to turn the trailer upright while pulling it off the road because of the wind.
"With the wind conditions being as they are, if we tipped it, it possibly could have kept rolling back out into the freeway. We've already pushed it out of the freeway once," Pugmire said. "The vehicle was actually traveling well below the speed limit, and it still tipped it over."
Along with high winds, we are also finding pockets of snow in Salt Lake Valley.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Warning for northern Utah that will be in effect from 3 p.m. Wednesday until 6 p.m. Friday. During that time, at least 10 to 16 inches of snow are expected in the Wasatch Mountains.
The snow, combined with high wind and rain, will likely cause some problems on the roads, especially along Interstate 15 later Wednesday night. Troopers are encouraging people to be careful on the roads.
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Story compiled with contributions from Shara Park and Randall Jeppesen.
