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NORTHERN UTAH -- A winter storm hits Utah hard, especially in Utah County where there are school closures, road closures and a lot of snow shoveling to do.
City snow plows were out early Tuesday morning, working to clear the streets. People were out shoveling the snow, in what seemed to be an endless effort to keep the concrete visible.
"To be honest, I came out and shoveled once at about 4:45 this morning," said Utah County resident Jaque Candland. "Shoveled again at 6:15 and now we're doing it again. It's a good winter workout."
Utah County
- 1 injury
- 10 property damage
- 14 sliders
Salt Lake County
- 3 injury
- 22 property damage
- 5 sliders
In Provo Canyon, a jackknifed semi closed eastbound lanes on US 189 at milepost 10. Traffic is being allowed through now. Also, UDOT plans 15 minute intermittent closures in the canyon from 10 a.m. to noon for avalanche control.
An accident shut down I-15 near Santaquin earlier this morning. All lanes now have reopened.
Chains are required for all semis traveling through Parley's Canyon. A semitrailer accident was reported there this morning.
Chains or four-wheel drive are required for all vehicles in Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
Snow may turn to rain by late this afternoon. Click here for the forecast.
The Utah Avalanche Center rated the avalanche risk for Tuesday "moderate" in the Ogden area, "considerable" in Logan and Salt Lake, and "high" in the Provo, Manti Skyline, Moab, and Western Uinta areas.
UDOT reports the following closures due to weather:
- SR 143 from Brian Head to Mammoth Creek
- SR 9 through Zion National Park
- SR 191 from Manila to Vernal due to multiple weather related crashes. It is not expected to re-open for 3 to 4 hours.
Deadly wrecks
It's been a deadly past couple of days on Utah's roads. Thirteen people have died since Thursday.
Four were killed Monday, including a Tooele County man who rolled his pickup truck on U.S. 40 east of Duchesne.
Three people also died in a four-car wreck on State Route 201 near Magna. Investigators say it was snowing lightly and the pavement was wet. Investigators also found evidence of drugs and alcohol in the car.
The Utah Department of Public Safety says it is always concerned about driving conditions this time of year, even if roads are not extremely icy.
The department says the number of traffic fatalities has dropped over the past several years. Last year 244 Utahns were killed on the roads; this year it's 224, and 13 in just the last five days.
School cancellations
Nebo School District administrators originally canceled only bus service and said it was up to parents to decide whether to take their kids to school. But district spokeswoman Lana Hiskey then said school is closed, as well.
Updates will be posted at the district's website at www.nebo.edu/
Reagan Academy Charter School in Springville is also closed due to weather, as is the South Sanpete School District. It hopes to reopen Wednesday.
The Provo School District says its schools are open, but it is asking people to be very cautious taking their kids to school. If students cannot get to school because of the snow, the absence will be excused.
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Story written with contributions from Randall Jeppesen, Sam Penrod and Anne Forester .
