UHP responds to 135 crashes after latest storm hits Utah


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SALT LAKE CITY — Snow and wind made the morning commute treacherous across Utah Wednesday.

Traffic

Weather conditions led to officials to close Little Cottonwood Canyon for a couple of hours during the late morning and early afternoon. The road reopened about 1:30 p.m., but Unified police said it would close again at 8 p.m. and remained closed until 8 a.m. Thursday.

The north side backcountry area of Little Cottonwood Canyon (Gate B through Grizzly Gulch) was expected to close 10 p.m. Wednesday and remain closed overnight as well, the Utah Department of Transportation tweeted.

The worst of the snow came during the morning commute.

Several crashes were reported in the Salt Lake Valley. Troopers responded to 135 crashes as of 4 p.m., Utah Highway Patrol officials said. Eighty-three of those crashes happened before 10 a.m.

One of those crashes involved an Alpine School District bus on state Route 92. Police say there were no injuries. Another bus was sent to pick up the students but also experienced difficulties reaching the first bus, officials said.

Northbound Mountain View Corridor closed at 7800 South shortly before 7 a.m. but reopened about 30 minutes later, according to a tweet from the Utah Department of Transportation.

Southbound Bangerter Highway closed between 4700 South and 5400 South Wednesday morning but opened about 20 minutes later, the KSL Traffic Center reports.

Southbound state Route 25 closed near Fish Lake in Sevier County shortly before 9 a.m., and officials are unsure when it will reopen. Northbound state Route 25 closed at the junction with state Route 24 in Piute County about the same time.

Delays

Alpine, Jordan, Granite, Iron County and Murray school districts caution students to be judicious and arrive to school when they can. The school districts were being lenient with tardies and absences.

Buses in the Granite School District were running about 45 minutes late, as were four buses in the Tooele County School District. Buses in the Jordan School District were running 45 minutes to an hour late.

The Utah House of Representatives began floor time on a delay at 9 a.m.

Power outage

Rocky Mountain Power officials tweeted that more than 1,000 customers in Sandy and South Jordan were affected by a power outage Wednesday morning.

By 7:45 a.m., more than half of the customers had their power restored. By 10 a.m., Rocky Mountain Power officials said roughly 425 customers were still without power. The agency said nearly all of those customers' power had been restored by 11:10 a.m.

Weather

There is a high wind warning for the Great Salt Lake desert and mountains, including the cities of Wendover and Snowville. The National Weather Service is reporting wind gusts of 60 to 72 mph near Wendover.

There is also a winter weather advisory issued for the Wasatch Mountains south of I-80, including the cities of Alta and Brighton as well as the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys. There are wet and snowy conditions across the valleys, but snow is especially treacherous on the west side in the Kearns, West Jordan and West Valley area, KSL TV reports.

Snow showers will push through the entire state today. Northern Utah will see the heaviest snow before dawn. Lake effect showers will impact the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, resulting in a couple of inches of snow. The heaviest snow will fall in central and into southern Utah with 3 to 6 inches, KSL Weather reports.

Snow is expected to continue throughout the day, according to KSL meteorologist Dan Guthrie. Get the complete forecast on the KSL Weather Page.

Contributing: Shara Park, KSL TV

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Linda Williams, KSLLinda Williams
Linda Williams is a web producer at KSL, helping to select and curate the stories published on the website each day. She has had an extensive career in Utah news.
Carter Williams, KSLCarter Williams
Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.
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