High winds tip semis

Wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour flipped semitrucks, ripped shingles off roofs and left thousands without power Monday as a storm system roared through the northern half of Utah.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Dave Rumsfield reported winds so strong, "we can't stand up straight without holding onto something."

I-15 was closed for about two hours in both directions after gusting winds overturned four semitrucks at Point of the Mountain — one truck crushing the back end of a car, said UHP Lt. Doug McCleve. An overheated car caught fire, he said.

No major injuries were reported in any of the wind-related accidents that happened around 6 p.m., McCleve said.

About 100 miles of I-80 between Wendover and Tooele County were closed to high-profile vehicles after two semitrucks were blown over in what McCleve called "microbursts of wind."

"It's incredible out there," McCleve said. "We've had three semis tip over on the southbound side of the (I-15) freeway and one spanning all lanes on the northbound side."

I-15 traffic was funneled off at U-92 to the frontage road and southbound at the Bluffdale Exit. Traffic moved slowly after I-15 reopened because of weather and traffic conditions.

The wind was expected to taper off overnight, and officials planned to reclose part of the freeway to upright the trucks after the wind died down.

Meanwhile, some 18,000 people from American Fork to Idaho — mostly on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley — lost power just before 9 p.m., said Utah Power spokeswoman Margaret Oler.

"We have everybody out there working on it who's available," Oler said. "It will definitely help when the storm calms down."

Downed power lines were reported in several areas, and trees reportedly fell on cars in the Avenues.

KSL-TV reported wind gusts up to 80 mph over the Great Salt Lake. The strongest gusts reported by the National Weather Service were 68 mph in Tooele and Juab counties.

The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning Monday evening for much of the northern half of the state, and a wind advisory was issued for much of Utah.

A snow advisory was issued for the Wasatch and western Uinta mountains, with 4-6 inches of snow forecast overnight above 8,000 feet.