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SALT LAKE CITY — Severe winter weather caused power outages and traffic jams throughout Utah Tuesday.
As of 8:30 p.m., Utah Highway Patrol troopers responded to 149 crashes throughout the state, the agency tweeted.
Southbound I-15 reopens in Box Elder County
Southbound I-15 reopened in Box Elder County after multiple crashes in the area closed the freeway for several hours Tuesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Transportation. The road reopened about 3:30 p.m.
Several semitrucks were involved in the crashes, as well as about 10 passenger cars and trucks, according to UHP.
Traffic on I-80 in Parleys Canyon is stop-and-go
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Traffic on I-80 in Parleys Canyon is stop-and-go as snow continues to fall and slide-offs and crashes slow the commute. Semitrucks must use chains while traveling on the road.
Red = Delays! And this is what I-80 Parleys Canyon looks like while feeling the hit of Mother Nature's wrath! Snow, snow & more snow! Slick road conditions & restrictions for semi's. #whiteknuckleride@kslnewsradiopic.twitter.com/iuNhi2xdGU
— Rikki Meece (@KSLRikki) February 5, 2019
Bad weather & road conditions in Parleys Canyon. Restrictions EB/WB I-80 chains req'd for all semi's. Slide-offs & crashes, slow traffic, areas of heavy snowfall w/reduced visibility and SLICK. @kslnewsradiopic.twitter.com/EuA3XPohXs
— Rikki Meece (@KSLRikki) February 5, 2019
World Championship events in Park City postponed due to weather
Some FIS World Championship events held at Canyons Village in Park City were postponed to a later date due to weather conditions Tuesday, the city tweeted.
Big air snowboarding and freeski slopestyle qualifying events were postponed for the day, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboard Chief of Press Tom Kelly. And there will be no big air snowboarding competition on Tuesday evening, he said.
Parallel slalom proceeded on schedule at Park City Mountain Resort, and freestyle aerials qualifying events proceeded on schedule at Deer Valley Resort, Kelly said.
2 injured in Rich County crash
A semitruck driving through Rich County rolled off state Route 30 in Laketown Canyon Tuesday afternoon. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper and Rich County deputy were investigating the crash when a second semitruck in the area slid off the road and hit the deputy, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Street said.
While investigating a semi that slid off the roadway in Laketown Canyon on Hwy 30, a second semi lost control and slid into a Rich County Deputy's vehicle. Serious injuries to both the Deputy and Semi Driver. However, the Deputy's injuries are believed to be non-life threatening. pic.twitter.com/8ST3FNK1Rh
— Utah Highway Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) February 5, 2019
#rich_crash
The deputy suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries and was transported to Logan Regional Hospital, according to UHP officials. The semitruck driver suffered minor injuries and was also transported to the hospital.
Laketown Canyon was closed in both directions for several hours as a result of the crash. It reopened shortly after 2:15 p.m.
Northbound I-15 in Cedar City closed Tuesday morning
About 15 semitrucks were traveling too fast for winter conditions and spun out on I-15 near Cedar City, according to a tweet from the Utah Highway Patrol.
NB I-15 is closed near Cedar City. Troopers are reporting that they are dealing with about 15 semis that have spun out after traveling too fast for the winter weather conditions and are now blocking traffic.
— Utah Highway Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) February 5, 2019
The freeway closed about 5 a.m. Tuesday and reopened a little over three hours later.
This is what it looks like in the Cedar City area this morning, these photos are from the @UDOTTRAFFIC cameras. Please be careful on the roads. NB I-15 in Cedar City is still CLOSED. #ksltv#utah#southernutah@KSL5TVpic.twitter.com/M3KF2Vtcmw
— Shara Park (@KSLSharaPark) February 5, 2019
Several cities throughout Utah lose power
About 6,000 households and businesses lost power in Iron County a little after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to Rocky Mountain Power. Classes at Fiddler Elementary in Cedar City were canceled because of the outage.
As of 10 p.m., there were 26 outages across Utah affecting 460 power customers. That included various outages in the Cedar City and Kanarraville areas affecting about 250 people, according to RMP.
As of about 7:40 p.m., crews were still working to restore power in Cedar City. In a tweet, RMP officials said crews would work throughout the night to completely restore power to customers in Cedar City.
Rocky Mountain Power crews will continue to work throughout the night to restore customer's affect in the Cedar City outage. Thank you for your continued patience during this time.
— Rocky Mountain Power UT (@RMP_Utah) February 6, 2019
#RMP_tweet
About 75 customers in the Salt Lake and Davis counties were experiencing power outages, according to Rocky Mountain Power.
The power was also out at Canyon View Middle School, but classes continued because students were already in transit when the power went out, according to a tweet from the Iron County School District.
Over 3,000 people lost power in the Riverdale and West Point areas in Weber County late Tuesday morning, but power was restored in the area by 6 p.m., according to Rocky Mountain Power.
Check for power outage updates on Rocky Mountain Power's website.
Update: School is cancelled at Fiddlers Elementary due to no power. CVMS is in session without power because students were already in transit when the power went out. A determination will be made if school will remain in session at CVMS later this a.m.
— Iron County Schools (@Iron_Schools) February 5, 2019
Salt Lake City schools expected to be open Wednesday
Salt Lake City schools are expected to be open as normal on Wednesday, Salt Lake City School District officials said in a tweet Tuesday.
Schools will be open "unless circumstances create health or safety issues," the district tweeted.
Parents are encouraged to allow for extra time in getting their children to school safely on Wednesday, the school district said.
Winter weather to bring several inches of snow, avalanche danger
The National Weather Service says cities from Ogden to Provo can expect up to 6 inches of snow by Wednesday around noon. Cedar City will get up to 4 inches of new snow, and the Wasatch Mountains south of I-80, the Western Uinta Mountains and the Wasatch Plateau may be blanketed with up to 18 inches of snow.
Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed for avalanche control Tuesday morning but reopened about 8:45 a.m. Ski bus routes 953, 972 and 994 are running to the ski resorts in the area but were behind schedule because of the canyon closure, according to Utah Transit Authority spokesman Carl Arky.
SKI BUS update: Little Cottonwood Canyon has reopened. Route 953, 972 & 994 are open to ride to Snowbird, Alta, Brighton & Solitude. Enjoy the fresh snow!!! pic.twitter.com/88mWZPNjy6
— UTA (@RideUTA) February 5, 2019
The National Weather Service has also set an avalanche warning for the Wasatch, Western Uinta and Bear River mountains through 6 a.m. Wednesday. Danger is high in those areas during that time, the weather service says.
Get traffic updates on KSL Newsradio and check the commute on the KSL Traffic Page.
Contributing: Jacob Klopfenstein, Carter Williams and Linda Williams, KSL.com
