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SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah is getting lots of snow a week into spring, and despite the weather forecasts for this storm, it definitely took some people by surprise.
It started early Sunday morning with high winds and enough snow to second-guess our spring status. Those winds caused some power outages and rollovers, but the snow was welcome news for skiers.
About 3,000 homes in Grantsville, 200 in downtown Salt Lake and 100 in Orem were without power thanks to the high winds, but it has all been restored now.
In Bountiful, residents were out shoveling snow.
Lance Arnold said, "We were getting ready for springtime because of all that nice, warm weather we had, then all the sudden, poof, here's the snow again!"
In downtown Salt Lake, wind was swirling snow in all directions, flags were blowing straight out, and construction debris was flying into the streets.
Molly Ballard told us, "It was a little bit of a shocker. You wake up and look down the street, and there's trash blowing down the street."
Billy Beattie said, "I woke up this morning, and all the clouds were gray, and it was windy. Then all the sudden the snow kicked in. It's been crazy since then."
Salt Lake International handled the storm in stride, de-icing planes waiting to take off. But all that snow and wind created problems for drivers in Box Elder County. Two semis collided on I-84, shutting down the freeway for two hours. UHP reported only minor injuries.
In Tooele County the wind blew over two semis. An officer helping the first rollover narrowly escaped getting smashed by the second.
In Salt Lake, the canyons didn't shut down completely, but chains or 4-wheel-drive was required.
For skiers, snowboarders and children, the snow storm could be summed up in one word, "Awesome," at least according to Tavin Arnold.
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
