Many Utahns found more than just frost on their pumpkins Thursday morning as they awoke to - and then battled - heavy, wet snow as they trudged to work and school.
The storm, which caught most commuters and others unprepared, moved into Utah early Wednesday evening, dropping 1-3 inches of snow on leaf-covered trees in the valley and up to 2 feet of snow at the top of Snowbird's tram.Are we ready for winter?
"No, I'm ready for spring," said East Mill Creek resident Ernest L. Allred, as he surveyed an inch or more of snow on his front lawn.
On the upside, the storm gave many areas of the state much-needed moisture, said William J. Alder, meteorologist in charge of the Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service. "It was an incredible storm with awesome amounts of water. It was a storm worth waiting for."
Problems caused by the storm include:
-Snarled traffic: With snow falling heavily early Thursday in some Salt Lake Valley locations, many commuters had difficulty getting to work along wet, slushy freeways and other roads. By 10:45 a.m., the Utah Highway Patrol had handled only two minor accidents on freeways in the Salt Lake Valley, a dispatcher said.
-Broken limbs and unpicked vegetables: The storm also caused problems for many residents whose fruit and other trees, still covered with leaves, were weighted down with wet snow. Broken tree limbs were reported in some areas. Tomatoes and other vegetables remained in many gardens.
-Power outages: Snow pulled down tree limbs onto electrical lines, causing spotty power outages on Salt Lake County's east benches and in other locations such as the Cottonwood and Midvale, according to a Utah Power & Light Co. dispatcher.
-Plugged storm drains: When the storm moved in Wednesday evening, it caused numerous problems for Salt Lake street department crews, who worked to unplug storm drains that had filled up with leaves, said Scott Mikkelsen, a member of the department's emergency response crew.
The situation created huge ponds in many intersections. Water was as much as 3 feet deep in some intersections along State Street from 1300 South to 300 South.
-Leaky roofs: Water leaked through the roof at West Jordan Elementary School, 7220 S. 2370 West, where work to replace the roof was uncompleted when the storm hit Wednesday. Classwork was disrupted for only about five minutes, and students were in no danger from falling debris, the school principal said.
The storm got a mixed reception. Varon L. Howell was up early Thursday and preparing for another day as principal at Fox Hills Elementary School in Kearns.
"I'm excited but not looking forward to another winter," Howell said with a laugh said as he looked out the window of his Holladay home at apricot and peach trees laden with snow.
G. Rodney Zabriskie, a vocal teacher at Jordan High School, said just a light skiff of snow covered the grass at his home in Sandy.
Alder said 1.18 inches of precipitation was recorded by 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Salt Lake International Airport, the greatest amount of precipitation in a 24-hour period since 1.32 inches fell on May 7-8, 1986.
Holladay received 1.95 inches; Bountiful, 1.62; Sandy, 1.50; Stansbury Park, Tooele County, 1.57; Tooele, 1.49; Kearns, 1.70; Trenton, Cache County, 1.10; Kaysville, 1.26; West Valley City, 1.34; Hooper, Weber County, 1.60; Ogden, 1.10; Mountain Dell Reservoir, 1 inch; Brighton, .90; Snowbird, 1.40; Logan, 1.03; Layton, 1.35; Centerville, 1.51; Nephi, 1.31; Alpine, Utah County, .74; and Washington Terrace, Weber County, .90; Kennecott at Magna, 1.74 inches.