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KSL Team Coverage Hundreds of wrecks along the Wasatch Front as a winter storm moved from Ogden through Salt Lake and into Utah County. The storm seemed to catch some drivers off guard.
Fifty slide-offs and accidents in Weber County. Davis County hit just as hard. In Salt Lake County, 84 crashes between 9 and 11 a.m, according to the Utah Highway patrol. Overall, the Utah Highway Patrol reports that there have been 196 accident investigations from Weber to Utah County.
Case in point: A 15 to 20 car pile-up by the University of Utah. Cars lost traction and started ping-ponging into each other. No major damage or injuries, just a big headache.
Lots of slide-offs and rollovers in just about every area with a freeway. The highway patrol says the combination of icy roads, white-out conditions, and people driving too fast led to the crashes, many of them involving 4-wheel drive trucks.
Sgt. Chris Simmons Utah Highway Patrol: "Even though we have 4-wheel drives it doesn't stop in ice. This is a perfect example of why. People think that they can travel at the posted speed limit in inclement weather conditions and rely on their four wheel drive when ice won't do anything for them. It's been very hectic for us, we've been going from one call to another. We have several calls that are pending We are just trying to get from one crash to another."
The highway patrol told us in Davis County there were 35 mile an hour wind gusts coupled with snow driving down. It seems to be quite the surprise. Luckily, no major injuries but definitely a reminder, no matter what car your're driving, take it slow.
Drivers tried to help each other through the stretch of highway through Parley's Canyon. Many made it. Some did not.
Trucker: "Basically, I was going along and was following a semi in front of me and lost traction going up the hill. So, we had to pull off."
Even for four wheel or all-wheel drives, the road was treacherous for a time with near zero visibility and a lot of other vehicles off the side of the road.
The storm arrived in Utah County around 11 a.m. They've seen both snow and strong winds, but so far, not the mess of traffic accidents in Northern Utah.
As people look out their front windows, even though the decorations are for St. Patrick's day, outside it looks more like Christmas. Most areas reported about three inches of snow overnight, then late this morning, the second wave arrived.
It was not only more snow, but gusty winds blowing the snow and causing some visibility problems for drivers.
The roads have not been as slick in Utah County. We have only heard of a handful of accidents there, and all of them have been minor fender bender types. Still the potential for crashes is out there, so people should take their time and slow down.
For most of this, the storm has brought us back to reality. How many of us put away the snow shovels last weekend for the season and had to get them out again this morning?
The storm should move into central and eastern Utah in the evening. The National Weather Service has issued a heavy snow warning for the central and southwest section of the state, including Richfield and Cedar City.
Cold weather and snow is expected to continue across the state through tomorrow and much of the weekend.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
