Winter springs back into action

Utah had another taste of "sprinter" Wednesday as the mountains were hammered with snow, which stuck on lawns and roofs in many valley locations and caused traffic problems on the highways.

Two to four feet of new snow are expected by Friday in the mountains of northern Utah, as the winter-like storm is expected to rotate and hit the state again.

By 4 p.m. Wednesday, Snowbird had received 17 inches of snow over 24 hours, while Alta had 25 inches.

Even downtown Salt Lake City had snow flurries throughout the day and temperatures only in the mid-30s as all of the Wasatch Front was under a "winter storm warning" from the National Weather Service.

In a weather rarity, both Logan and Provo had nearly identical conditions Wednesday afternoon. Both cities had snow and highs reaching 34 degrees by 3 p.m. Even St. George was overcast with a high of just 43 degrees.

The NWS reported 5 inches of snow in Springville, 3 inches in Layton and 3 inches in Millcreek.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was involved in a crash as the spring snowstorm created slick roads across much of northern Utah.

The UHP said the trooper had stopped on I-15 near Bangerter Highway to clear debris from the freeway's southbound lanes when a car slammed into her car.

"Luckily, she was still in the car," UHP trooper Cameron Roden said.

The driver of the car that hit her was reported to be in fair condition with injuries.

Along I-80 near Coalville, a man was critically injured when he lost control of his vehicle on slick roads and slammed into the back of an ice cream truck that had pulled over to the side of the road. Several lanes of traffic were closed while the accident was being investigated, Roden said.

Just before 4 p.m., there was a five-car accident that closed state Route 6 outside of Price for more than an hour, Roden said. The road was closed while the crash was investigated and cleared. No one was injured.

The worst of the winter road conditions were on I-15 north of Honeyville to the Idaho border, where lanes were slushy. Also, slushy snow was reported on roads in the Cottonwood Canyons, state Route 143 to Brian Head, the Mirror Lake Highway and the Trappers Loop Road.

State Route 31 through Fairview Canyon was reported as snow-covered, with blowing snow.

More rain and snow is likely Thursday, with the snow level at 5,300 feet and the daytime high only reaching 48.

Thursday evening is expected to have a 50 percent chance of additional rain and snow. Even Friday will have a 20 percent chance of rain and a high of 56 degrees.

The good news is Saturday should be sunny and 61 degrees, and Sunday through the middle of next week looks clear and warm, too, with highs reaching 73 degrees.

Contributing: Ben Winslow and Ethan Thomas. E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com