Snow and wind cause problems across the Wasatch Front


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Team coverageAnother storm rolled through the Wasatch Front this afternoon, but the snow chose it's geography very carefully.

Utah County was hit particularly hard, impacting traffic on Interstate 15 throughout the afternoon. Thanksgiving Point received somewhere between 9 and 10 inches of new snow.

Salt Lake County hasn't seen nearly as much snow, but problems there began even before the snow started flying.

The storm started moving in around 9 a.m., hitting the northern part of the state first. It's brought wind along with the snow, and that has caused the majority of the problems.

The high winds caused several problems in the Draper area. Early this morning, 671 customer lost power because a power pole caught fire at 12900 South and 300 East. Rocky Mountain Power had to shut down power in that area to investigate and repair the damage. Power was restored shortly before noon.

High winds also created a mess for Sandy residents. Several neighborhoods had garbage cans overturned and Christmas decorations tipped over or ripped from houses.

Wind gusts also created large snowdrifts in Parley's Canyon, causing poor visibility for drivers. The Utah Department of Transportation says the plows are out prepping the roads, but Parley's, along with the Big and Little Cottonwood canyons, are difficult to keep clear with this kind of weather.

UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo said, "Our challenge is to keep those roads open so the skiers can go up there. The Point of the Mountain can also be a challenge because of the high winds in that area. Southern Utah is also problematic; a lot of semis tend to jack-knife down in that area because the bridges freeze, and it can create problems."

Parts of southern Utah also are expected to get some snow.

Carrillo says UDOT spends about $1 million per storm when it come to preparing and clearing the roads, and it estimates about 25 storms per year.

UDOT's plows have hit the roads this morning, putting down sand and brine salt. When the snow starts to really come down, they will be out in full force to remove it.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning through tonight in some areas. The storm comes on the heels of another storm that dumped several inches of snow across northern Utah on Friday.

Bruce Tremper, director of the Utah Avalanche Center, says adding weight to the fragile snowpack increases the likelihood of human-caused avalanches. The center has issued a special avalanche advisory and given a "high" danger rating to mountains stretching from Provo north to Logan and east to the Uintas.

E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
E-mail: spark@ksl.com

(Copyright 2008 Bonneville International Corporation. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed. AP contributed to this report.)

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