Winter storm catches Wasatch Front by surprise

SALT LAKE CITY — The forecast called for rain Friday morning, but most of the Wasatch Front woke up to see a nice blanket of snow covering the ground.

KSL Meteorologist Grant Weyman says that through most residents in the valleys can expect to 1-3 inches but we had reports of some people in Bountiful reporting up to eight inches on the benches!

Out at the Salt Lake International Airport, they’ve reported that overnight they had 1.4 inches of precipitation and four inches of snow. That snow caused some big issues for travelers that had to spend the night on the terminal floor after two Delta Air Lines flights were delayed for hours after de-icing crews were unavailable.

Suzanna Cunningham was one of the passengers that spoke with Utah’s Morning News, the morning news show on KSL Newsradio. She says that her flight to Oakland was scheduled for 10:30 p.m. Thursday and didn’t get off the ground until after 7 a.m. Friday when the plane was delayed again for de-icing.

Cunningham said that it was about 2 a.m. Friday that they were deplaned and were forced to sleep on the floor.

“We’re talking about families with kids and retirees, and when you don’t set them up in a place to sleep, that seems somewhat beyond the pale,” she said.

It wasn’t just air travel that was expected by this spring winter storm. Traffic was a mess all morning causing issues everywhere.

A portion of 3300 S was closed after portions of the road were flooded under the overpass. Some cars were trapped there when some drivers tried to ford the water.

 

Another car got stuck in the lake which formed on 3300 South at 500 West. It was heading west toward Redwood Rd. Police may shut down the westbound lanes; EB closed for several hours. pic.twitter.com/BxsfRRzZGw

— Heather Kelly (@KSLHeatherKelly) March 29, 2019

 

One of the other big issues that blocked traffic was in Emigration Canyon after a downed power line caused a snowplow to catch fire. Crews were able to put the blaze out and Rocky Mountain Power crews are working on repairing the lines.

 

WATCH: The Snowplow fire is now out up Emmigration Canyon! Watch crews put it out after what looked like an explosion. pic.twitter.com/OVZyqoxjLM

— KSL Newsradio (@kslnewsradio) March 29, 2019

The burnt shell of the snowplow this morning in Emigration Canyon #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/kDiNGJHlQ3

— Derek Petersen (@Derek_Photog) March 29, 2019

Eighteen thousand people woke up in the dark Friday morning as well after power outages affected residents across the Salt Lake Valley. Rocky Mountain Power said that lines were damaged due to the heavy snow that fell overnight, bringing down branches and lines. Rocky Mountain Power say it will take some time to complete repairs due to the widespread and localized nature of the damage.

You can report any of your outages to Rocky Mountain Power’s toll-free outage line at (877) 508-5088 or text OUT to 759-677. You can check the status of the repair by texting STAT to 759-677.

I can’t go more than a block without seeing branches down throughout Liberty Park, Sugarhouse and Millcreek pic.twitter.com/meBL9FkBYx

— Mary Richards (@kslmrichards) March 29, 2019

 

Grant Weyman said that we aren’t quite out of the woods just yet with this storm. He said that residents can expect this storm to come in waves and that there could be even more moisture in the forecast. This weekend is anticipated to see more sunshine, even if the temperature is a bit cooler.

We’re seeing 1-3 inches right now that is definitely going to affect your morning commute! #utwx pic.twitter.com/AHGQR5GHmx

— KSL Newsradio (@kslnewsradio) March 29, 2019

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