Friday storm prompts 'interlodge' at Salt Lake-area resorts; slick roads cause crashes

Officials have closed the road in Little Cottonwood Canyon due to avalanche danger on Friday. The snowpack total is close to breaking a 40-year record in Utah.

Officials have closed the road in Little Cottonwood Canyon due to avalanche danger on Friday. The snowpack total is close to breaking a 40-year record in Utah. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — It's nearly April, but the Wasatch Front is in the thick of another winter storm that is expected to drop several inches of snow in the valleys through Friday evening.

The cold weather also froze wet roads, causing slick conditions and leading to several crashes on I-15 in northern Utah.

The storm has prompted Snowbird and Alta resorts in Little Cottonwood Canyon to declare an "interlodge event" due to extreme avalanche risk, effectively shutting down access to the resorts and ordering all skiers off the mountain.

"During an interlodge event, travel outside of the buildings at Snowbird is illegal. This includes being in your vehicle," Snowbird's website stated.

"A full interlodge is now in effect," Snowbird tweeted at 2:15 p.m. "All lifts are now on hold and everyone at Snowbird needs to make their way to a building, immediately. You cannot stay in your car. This is for your safety. There is no ETA on when interlodge will be lifted."

"Alta Ski Area is closed for the day," Alta said in a similar post.

Alta Town Marshal Mike Morey said a natural and serious avalanche cycle occurred Friday, threatening the town and road and causing the interlodge to be put into effect.

"There are presently about 1,160 people sheltered in base area facilities in Alta. Multiple agencies are working to make the situation safe and clear the highway. Our collective goal is to get everyone home as soon as possible. I know this has been a difficult day, thank you all for your cooperation, patience and understanding," the marshal said on Twitter.

Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed most of Friday for avalanche mitigation and slide debris cleanup. The canyon reopened about 7 p.m., but the Utah Department of Transportation announced the canyon will be closing again at 10 p.m. through 8:30 a.m. Saturday for more avalanche mitigation.

Big Cottonwood Canyon has reopened, but the Utah Department of Transportation says to expect high traffic volume and commute delays.

Dozens of car crashes occurred along I-15 Friday night as slick, icy roads caused vehicles to slide. One crash near 14600 South on northbound I-15 closed three lanes and backed up traffic all the way to Orem.

KSL Meteorologist Kevin Eubank said the cold front that blew through northern Utah Friday was making its way eastward and would be out of the state by Saturday morning. The main snow showers for Friday are over for northern Utah, but snow is expected to continue overnight for the east and southern areas of the state.

Valley snow accumulation was expected to be between 1 and 4 inches Friday, though the benches and Cache Valley could see as much as 8 inches — and the storm more than delivered, according to the National Weather Service.

As of 6 p.m. Friday, the agency said the Alta-Collins area saw almost 21 inches of snow; 17 inches hit Snowbird, and 15 accumulated at Powder Mountain. The Logan Bench totaled 10 inches and Bountiful reached almost 8 inches. Orem saw 6 inches of snow and the Sandy area got a little less than 5 inches.

Residual moisture and bursts of energy will linger through the weekend across northern Utah, Eubank said. This will produce scattered light snow Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

The next storm is forecast to hit the state Wednesday, starting as a southern storm and traveling north, producing valley rain and mountain snow. Then the main storm center will cross over Thursday changing all the rain to snow, Eubank said.

Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.

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Bridger Beal-Cvetko covers Utah politics, Salt Lake County communities and breaking news for KSL.com. He is a graduate of Utah Valley University.
Cassidy Wixom covers Utah County communities and is the evening breaking news reporter for KSL.com.

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