The return to winter weather has caused some problems statewide.

The most serious was a charter bus full of Payson High School choir students that hit a semi that had flipped on I-15 early Monday. The Utah Highway Patrol said a semitrailer hauling a load of kitchen cabinets lost control about 4:30 a.m. on icy roads about 20 miles south of Fillmore. The semi rolled, separating from its trailer and flipping it onto the freeway.

"The trailer overturns and is blocking almost all of the roadway," UHP Sgt. Ted Tingey said. "He spills his load and we've got that all over the road. The next vehicle through happens to be the charter bus."

The bus was carrying 53 people from a youth choir in Payson. Tingey said the driver tried to avoid the boxes scattered across the freeway.

"He clips the right side of the bus, which shatters a lot of the windows and tears it up on the side," Tingey said.

However, the bus wasn't seriously damaged, nor were any passengers seriously injured, said Lana Hiskey, spokeswoman for the Nebo School District.

Five students said they were sore from the crash and asked to be taken to a hospital in Fillmore. They were quickly released, however, with only one student requesting ibuprofen, Hiskey said.

A school bus was summoned to take the students to the Fillmore armory, where they were fed and sheltered until a Nebo School District bus could get there.

The driver of the semi suffered the most serious injuries, but Tingey said they were not life-threatening.

The 45 students and eight chaperones arrived back at Payson High School around 11:40 a.m., and all of the students were in good spirits, Hiskey said. It helped that during their choir competition in California, two of the singing groups won first place, Hiskey said. Hiskey said the parents who gathered at the high school were calm, having talked with their children via cell phones. Students were given the rest of the day off to rest, Hiskey said.

In Salt Lake City, a woman was temporarily trapped in her SUV after she lost control of her vehicle and slammed into a power pole, breaking the pole in half and causing live wires to fall across her door.

The accident happened about 8 a.m. near 1735 S. Foothill Drive.

"When officers arrived, they warned her not to exit the vehicle," said Salt Lake police detective Dennis McGowan.

The power was turned off a short time later and the woman was able to walk away unharmed. She did receive a citation, however, for driving too fast for conditions.

Across the Wasatch Front, icy and snowy roads caused mostly minor problems. In Parleys Canyon, a semi jackknifed.

In Little Cottonwood Canyon, an avalanche that spread over the main road kept the canyon closed from about 4:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. The slide, which was about 20 feet wide and 3 feet deep, covered the road near the White Pine area, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson.

The mayor of Alta and a couple of workers tried to "plow through it," but ended up getting stuck in the snow, Hutson said. Road crews were able to free the mayor and his stuck companions while clearing the roadway of snow.

The UHP urged caution on the roads, asking drivers to slow down and give themselves extra distance between cars.

"Winter's not over yet even though it's springtime," Tingey said.

Contributing: Pat Reavy, Sara Israelsen-Hartley

E-MAIL: bwinslow@desnews.com