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Powerful winds leave hundreds without power, close freeways to high-profile vehicles


Traffic light out at Nicholls Road on Highway 89 in Kaysville/Fruit Heights area. (Jeremy Harris / KUTV)
Traffic light out at Nicholls Road on Highway 89 in Kaysville/Fruit Heights area. (Jeremy Harris / KUTV)
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UPDATE: April 14, 5:20 a.m. — Wind continue to gust in powerful, damaging bursts Wednesday morning, wreaking havoc with travel and leaving thousands in northern Utah without power and freeway closures to high-profile vehicles. Delays are expected in parts of Box Elder, Davis and Salt Lake counties.

Meanwhile Rock Mountain's power outage map shows more than 2,000 people from Ogden through South Salt Lake are without power.

Travel is complicated by the winds too as high-profile vehicles are restricted in both directions on Interstate 15 and Legacy Parkway as winds create dangerous conditions for them. Utah Department of Transportation has closed I-15 and US-89 junction from Kaysville to Bountiful. There is no estimated time when the restriction will be lifted. This includes semi trucks, RVs and other light or high profile vehicles, UDOT said.

CLOSURES:

DAVIS COUNTY: I-15 and Legacy Parkway from milepost 317, 400 North in Bountiful to milepost 328, 200 North in Kaysville and along Legacy Parkway from milepost 4, 500 South Bountiful to milepost 12, the US-89 / I-15 junction in Farmington.

SALT LAKE COUNTY: Westbound I-80 is currently closed at milepost 130, traffic diverted off exit to I-215 east heading south, due to a crash blocking all lanes near Foothill Drive. Drivers are advised to use exit 130 to I-215 east and use the ramp to rejoin westbound I-80. Expect significant delays.

BOX ELDER COUNTY: Westbound I-84 is closed at milepost 40 in Tremonton due to multiple crashes. Plan for delayed travel or use an alternative route.

Local signal lights are also impacted in some areas. Drivers should treat any intersection signal failures as four-way stops.

According to the National Weather Service Salt Lake City office, peak winds so far reached 84 mph at Weber Canyon, 79 mph at Park Lane, 67 mph at Logan Peak, 62 mph at North Brigham City, 59 mph at Logan Cache Airport and 59 mph at the University of Utah.

The original story follows

A wind storm on Tuesday night knocked out power in several spots along the northern Wasatch Front, including to at least 2,000 people in parts of Fruit Heights, Kaysville, and Farmington.

Rocky Mountain Power reports its crews are investigating the outage.

Traffic lights were out on Highway 89, creating a potentially dangerous situation for drivers.

The Utah Highway Patrol also put a restriction on high profile vehicles in place in Davis County for Highway 89, Interstate 15, and Legacy Highway. Troopers reported wind gusts of up to 70 mph.

Anyone driving north of Salt Lake is advised to use caution and check for restrictions before getting on the road, the Utah Department of Transportation stated.

WIND WARNING

A high wind warning was issued Tuesday by the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City and lasts from 6 p.m. Tuesday evening to 9 a.m. Wednesday. Meteorologists report east winds in the 30 to 40 mph range are expected, with gusts in excess of 70 mph.

The warning pertains to eastern Salt Lake County, Davis and Weber County, and Cache and eastern Box Elder County. NWS reports areas of particular concerns are the Interstate 15 corridor and the Highway 89 corridor between Farmington and South Weber.

The strongest winds are expected Tuesday night with the storm predicted to die out by Wednesday morning.

Utahns are advised to secure all objects around their homes that could become airborne during a wind event. It's also advisable not to park cars underneath trees that could be blown over and damage the vehicle.

For the latest updates on this wind storm, watch reporter Jeremy Harris and chief meteorologist Sterling Poulson on 2News at 10 p.m.

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