SOUTH WILLARD -- Commuters got a taste of winter Monday morning as a lingering weekend storm dumped snow, graupel and rain onto roadways in the Top of Utah, causing several slide-offs and crashes.
In Box Elder County, nearly a dozen motorists were caught off guard when the snow and graupel started coming down on part of Interstate 15 near South Willard around 8:15 a.m.
Graupel is often mistaken for hail, but really are slick round snow pellets that can accumulate quickly, said Glen Merrill, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.
Several vehicles heading in both directions spun out of control after driving over the pellets and were sent skidding either into the median or off the shoulders.
"There were cars flying off everywhere," said Grant Norman, of Paradise. "It was just a mess. It was terrible."
Norman said he was southbound on a relatively dry roadway when he drove over a bridge near Mile Marker 352 and suddenly encountered slick conditions.
"The road was dry, then we came over the hill and then there was 2 inches of snow on the road," he said.
"We were doing 65. I let off the gas and tried to slow down, but we went off the road."
Norman's Toyota pickup slammed into a Toyota Camry that had already slid off into the center median.
The female driver of that vehicle was taken to the hospital with cuts to her arm.
Norman and his passenger were not injured.
Within minutes on that small stretch, there were four crashes and two slideoffs in the southbound lanes, and two crashes and two slideoffs in the northbound lanes.
Also, two vehicles slammed into the cable barrier in the median, damaging the barricade, said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Lee Perry.
Officials are also looking for one driver that was involved in a two-vehicle crash and fled the scene.
Merrill said the thunderstorm that hit the Top of Utah on Monday was likely enhanced because of the heat that is generated off Great Salt Lake and Willard Bay, as well as subtle winds converging and separating in the area.
The winterlike weather may have caught several motorists by surprise, but the area of I-15 near Willard Bay is a known tricky spot in questionable weather, Perry said.
Officials are warning people to be alert for fast- changing road conditions as winter approaches.
"These conditions can happen on a regular basis," Perry said. "When you see bad weather and dark clouds ahead, slow down before you get there. Pay attention to the horizon, and pay attention to what's coming down the road, not just what's two car lengths in front of you."
Earlier Monday morning in Weber County, a dark storm system dumped snow pellets onto I-15 near the Interstate 84 interchange, causing one vehicle heading north to hit the center median and roll over.
About 10 minutes later, a car traveling southbound lost control and hit the median near the 31st Street exit.
Neither motorist was injured in those crashes.
Traffic was snarled in both directions while plows cleared the snow off the interstate.
"It was sort of a fluke thing. Conditions were dry around 12th Street in Ogden and in Roy," said UHP Sgt. Ellis Alexander.
"It is the stretch between that for some reason always takes a beating. I don't know what it is."
Another rollover occurred on I-15 near the 5600 South exit in Roy not long after, but the roadway was dry at the time and that accident was determined to have been caused by driver error, Alexander said.
Two plows were also sent to Box Elder County to clear the snow and apply salt and sand to the roadway there.
The storm system was expected to move out of the area by nightfall Monday, and officials with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City are calling for mostly clear conditions for the rest of the week.
Comments