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Sandra Yi Reporting Lightning flashed. One bolt started a power pole on fire. Hail pounded down. High winds toppled trucks like they were toys. And tonight, Morgan County residents are wading through the water and slinging sandbags. February is going out like a lion.
There's been wild weather in much of the state today. Probably hardest hit is the town of Morgan, where floodwaters have made a mess of things.
Fortunately the weather is now cooperating in Morgan County. It's no longer snowing, it's no longer raining and conditions are improving. In fact, water levels have subsided quite a bit in just the last couple of hours.
Hans Nielsen: "We'd have some water here, just a little bit. And I'd like it to drain down here and we'd have a little pond right there. Well, I guess my dream came true and I got a big pond."
But this wasn't how Hans Nielsen imagined it. He's wading in his front yard, but it looks better now than it did a few hours ago.
Hans Nielsen: "No, it used to come up to my knees right here."
Still, Nielsen considers himself lucky. There's a foot of water in his cellar, but the rest of his home is dry.
Hans Nielsen: "The house was built in 1880, so it was built really well."
Within hours this afternoon, floodwaters creeped into more than 20 homes in Morgan County. Some streets were covered in standing water.
Dep. Jason Lee, Morgan County Sheriff's Office: "In certain areas, it's anywhere from inches to feet."
With the warm weather, the snowpack melted too fast for canals and ditches to handle.
Dep. Jason Lee: "The irrigation ditches and the East Canyon Creek had overflowed to a certain point."
As the fire department pumped water, volunteers filled thousands of bags with sand.
Ashley Phillips, Volunteer: "A lot of personal trucks have come down to get sandbags and take them up to their neighbors' houses."
As conditions improve, some residents are keeping sandbags just as a precaution. They're hoping things just don't get any worse.
Dep. Jason Lee: "We're gonna have to expect the worst and just kind of prepare for it."
Fortunately, no one has been forced to evacuate homes tonight. Crews are now just letting Nature take its course. The fire department was there for a time, pumping water, but they're done for the night.
