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SALT LAKE CITY – Another round of snow arrived in northern Utah on Fridayleading to all kinds of closures.
Officials for Alta Ski Area and Snowbird Resort, which have received more than 2 feet of snow since Thursday morning, announced their resorts are closed Friday. Their announcements were made after traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed due to avalanche mitigation. The Utah Department of Transportation does not have an estimated time for the highway to reopen.
The canyon backcountry is closed until at least 5 pm and a insert it was also issued for Snowbird Village, due to the avalanche danger. During an interlodge event, skiers and employees are confined to buildings while avalanche work is done.
Other canyon impacts
The roads through Big Cottonwood Canyon and Ogden Canyon reopened Friday afternoon after both were closed for a while.
UDOT officials say vehicles must have chains or four-wheel drive to travel through Big Cottonwood Canyon, but all other drive laws have expired. The Weber County Sheriff’s Office advised drivers traveling on State Route 39 to slow down and use caution due to slippery conditions.
Since then, an 18-mile stretch of State Route 92 in Utah County has reopened after an avalanche earlier in the day. US 91 in Sardine Canyon was closed for more than two hours after several vehicles also got stuck on the road.
high avalanche hazard
While canyons begin to reopen, the Utah Avalanche Center is warning that “dangerous” avalanche conditions exist in the mountains of northern and central Utah.
A natural avalanche fell near Laurel Pines, more than 9 miles into Big Cottonwood Canyon, according to UDOT spokesman Mitch Shaw. There were no reports of anyone being buried; however, the agency tweeted that it caused snow debris of about 10 feet to affect the highway. As a result, the road was closed for several hours.
“Avalanche danger is high, with large and destructive natural and man-made avalanches,” Utah Avalanche Center officials said in a statement. “Avoiding avalanche terrain is the safest option. Avoid being on or below slopes steeper than 30 degrees and avoid avalanche escape zones. Some avalanches can reach the bottom of valleys.”
closures and blackouts
Some schools were affected by the weather. Park City School District officials closed all of its schools, while Layton Christian Academy switched to remote learning.
Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Bees were forced to postpone their season opener on Friday due to weather. The team’s season will kick off with a doubleheader at Smith’s Ballpark on Saturday. Lagoon amusement park officials announced they will not open this weekend after they also postpone the opening day of the park last week. The park is now scheduled to open on April 8.
There have also been some snow related power outages. Rocky Mountain Power officials tweeted that a pole fire caused nearly 2,400 customers to lose power in the West Haven area. Weber Fire District Deputy Chief David Reed said the pole began to bow as a result of snowpack, causing it to overheat and catch fire. No injuries were reported.
The blackout could continue for several hours. Rocky Mountain Power officials estimate that power will be restored at 9:30 p.m.
the storm clears
However, most of the snow is beginning to loosen. The National Weather Service has canceled its winter weather advisory for the northern valleys of Utah. A winter storm warning for the Wasatch Mountains and canyons expires Friday night.
The storm has not only dumped several feet of snow on the mountains, but even some valley banks received a foot of new snow. Ogden’s northeast bank received 13 inches of snow as of 8 a.m. Friday; 12 inches of snow fell on the east side of Layton, according to the weather service. Cottonwood Heights and Sandy also received more than 8 inches of snow.
KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson said a few scattered showers are possible throughout the day, but nothing as big as Friday morning’s storm. The system will begin to clear late in the day, leading to a mild and mostly dry weekend.
“For this afternoon and all night, we are dry,” he said. “(Saturday), something jumps at the Idaho border. That’s it. Saturday and Sunday look dry.”
However, those conditions will be short-lived. Another storm forecast to hit Utah on Monday has the potential to bring a few more inches of snow to the valley. Full seven-day forecasts for areas of Utah can be found online at KSL Weather Center.
This story will be updated.
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