SALT LAKE CITY — A winter storm brought heavy snow and winds to the Wasatch Front on Friday morning, just in time for the morning commute.

Snowfall and traffic delays were heaviest from Sandy to Bountiful, the KSL Traffic Center reported Friday. It wasn't large snowfall totals that experts were worried about, but rather the intensity and timing of the storm, according to National Weather Service Salt Lake City.

Road restrictions

Driving restrictions were in effect for multiple roadways in northern Utah on Friday morning, according to the Utah Department of Transportation but most had been lifted by 1 p.m.

Tire chains or 4-wheel drive were required for all vehicles driving in Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons most of Friday afternoon but had been lifted as of 5 p.m.

Tire chains were required on I-80 in Parleys Canyon for all eastbound vehicles, as well as westbound semitrucks.

Interstate 84 in Idaho was closed from the Utah state line to the junction with I-86 east of Burley, Idaho, according to the Idaho Department of Transportation. By 4:40 p.m., the interstate had reopened. Further information is available at 511.idaho.gov.

As of 6 p.m., the Wyoming Department of Transportation had closed U.S. Highway 191 from I-80 to the Utah state line due to winter weather conditions, according to UDOT. Further information is available at wyoroad.info.

Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed from 10 a.m. to about noon for avalanche control work, according to Unified police.

Driving restrictions were also in effect Friday morning for U.S. Highway 40 east of Jordanelle Reservoir and state Route 224 over Empire Pass in Summit County, U.S. Highway 40 through Daniels Canyon and over Daniels Summit in Wasatch County, Provo Canyon on U.S. Highway 189 in Utah County and U.S. Highway 89/91 through Sardine Canyon in Box Elder and Cache counties. All those restrictions were lifted as of 1 p.m.

Snowfall

A winter weather advisory was in effect for the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys from 2 a.m. Friday until 11 a.m. including Logan, Smithfield, Brigham City, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Tooele, Lehi, Provo and Nephi.

Heavy snow fell between 3 a.m and 8 a.m. in Logan and Ogden, according to the National Weather Service. Heber City recorded the highest snow total Friday morning, collecting 7 inches, according to the NWS.

In the Salt Lake Valley, Sugar House had the most, at 5 inches as of 10 a.m. The upper Millcreek area, at 5050 feet elevation, had received 6.4 inches of snow as of 5 p.m., NWS Salt Lake City reported.

Most other areas in the valley recorded between 1 and 5 inches of snow, according to the weather service.

Another winter weather advisory was in effect from 2 a.m. Friday to 5 p.m. for the Wasatch Mountains north of I-80.

In higher elevations, 6-12 inches of snow was expected.

Delayed starts

On Thursday, Gov. Gary Herbert said all government offices would open two hours later on Friday, at 10 a.m., due to the storm. All branches of the Salt Lake City Public Library system delayed opening until 11 a.m., according to a library Facebook post.

Many school districts also had delays or closures.

• In the South Summit School District, high schools and middle schools started at 9 a.m. Elementary schools began at 10 a.m.
• The Alpine School District issued a delay warning but canceled it Friday morning. Classes were held on a normal schedule.

Several UTA bus routes also were altered due to snow, including those to Weber State University and the Avenues in Salt Lake City. More information can be found on the UTA snow routing website.

Traffic information is available via the KSL Traffic Center, @ksltraffic on Twitter, or at udottraffic.utah.gov.

The full KSL Weather forecast is available at ksl.com/weather.

Contributing: Linda Williams, KSL.com

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