Storm has frozen itself into memory

PROVO — It was a wintry blast that many will never forget.

A bitter-cold storm whipped through the Wasatch Front on Wednesday, pummeling the landscape with so much force that some folks wondered aloud if they'd ever experience another like it.

"I've seen some storms," said Lehi Police Sgt. Jeff Swenson, "but that — that was the worst I've seen, at least in the last 15 years."

Swenson wasn't talking about the inches of snow. It's how those flakes were delivered. A freezing, blistering wind blew, kicking up snow from fields along Utah County roads and freezing an already horrendous afternoon commute.

National Weather Service meteorologist Monica Traphagan said the Pacific Northwest storm system that was expected to move through Utah quickly unexpectedly stalled right over the Wasatch Front.

"The storm ended up moving a lot slower than expected," she said. "The problem (Wednesday afternoon) was the wind and the reduction of visibility and the blowing and drifting snow."

As the storm grew fierce, commuters became stuck in snarled traffic — for hours.

Some, unable to navigate the wintry roads, many of which had been closed by authorities, pulled over and hunkered down in stores and restaurants. Some schools even hosted slumber parties for stranded students.

More than 100 stranded people waited at a Sinclair gas station in Alpine along state Route 98, police said. Hundreds gathered in Smith's grocery store in Saratoga Springs.

By 9 p.m. camps were emerging all over the store. Pillows were bought out and the registers were busy ringing up items to survive the cold night in their cars.

A mile away, Stephen Munson and his two friends were getting ready to spend the night in their Jeep. He was on his way out of Eagle Mountain after a warm and sunny day of four-wheeling when, he said, they hit a wall of snow.

"No warning, no wind — then complete whiteout," he said. "I've never seen anything like it. It was almost creepy how fast it came on."

After battling the storm a few miles he ended up sliding into roadside trench on 400 North in Saratoga Springs.

Twelve feet from Munson was a crumpled tan minivan. Inside: a mother and her three young children. Blinding weather conditions kept ambulances from arriving quickly, but a fire utility truck plowed its way to the wreck.