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NORTHERN UTAH – An overnight storm created a lot of problems for drivers Saturday night and Sunday morning, and the inclement weather led to a string of accidents up and down the Wasatch Front.
The Utah Highway Patrol says they have responded to dozens of accidents Sunday, but only a few of those accidents involved injuries and none of them are life-threatening.
It was a large number of accidents for a Sunday, but that’s probably no surprise to anyone who was out on the roads in the morning.
“There have been a great many accidents,” said Trooper Brady Zaugg of the Utah Highway Patrol. “…Speed and icy roadway conditions were factors.”
But some situations, like a crash on I-15 at 600 North in Salt Lake City, were more serious.
“We had several vehicles involved in a collision,” Zaugg said. “A couple went off to the right. At least one of them hit a few road signs. The other one went off to the left, we know that they hit the wall.”
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, these are the crash totals by county between midnight and 9 a.m. Sunday:
Salt Lake County: 84 crashes with property damage, 14 crashes with injuries and 32 slide offs.
Utah County: 21 crashes with property damage, one with injuries and six slide offs.
Weber County: 10 crashes with property damage, three with injuries and eight slide offs.
Davis County: Six crashes with property damage, one with injuries and three slide offs.
Parleys Canyon also saw issues as the snow combined with above-average traffic for the film festival.
“We've got Sundance going on, so there's quite a bit of traffic,” said Roger Frantz, a roadway operations manager with UDOT.
The Utah Department of Transportation’s snowplow drivers have been contending with heavy snow and changing conditions since early Saturday night.
“A lot of standing water also,” Frantz said. “It's a pretty warm storm, really wet… we do have speeds reduced in the canyon.”
Parleys Canyon had variable speed limits adjusting with the conditions Sunday, which dropped as low as 35 mph during the course of the day.
On other Interstates, where reduced speeds are not mandatory, UHP says slowing down is still a good idea.
“Please reduce your speeds dramatically, or stay home,” Zaugg said.
Road conditions seemed to be improving Sunday afternoon as temperatures climbed.
According to the National Weather Service, a Winter Weather Advisory for Sunday was extended until about 4 p.m., but snow accumulations were expected to diminish later in the day. FOX 13 Meteorologist Brek Bolton said most valley and lower-elevation areas should be done with precipitation for the day, but snow could continue in the mountains Sunday night.
Follow the storms in real-time with our interactive maps and radar.
