Tens of thousands of Salt Lake area residents lost electrical power this morning as a vicious snowstorm moved in.
A capacitor failed at the 9000 South substation just west of I-15, probably because of the storm, said Dave Eskelsen, Utah Power spokesman."I would say tens of thousands" of people had no power, he added. It was "pretty much the south and east part of the valley south of 3900 South and mainly east of the freeway."
Snowbird and Cottonwood Mall were among the major customers without power. Utah Power's microwave communications went out because of the failure, so the company itself did not know the full extent of the outage.
As of press time today, Eskelsen wasn't sure when power would be restored to the region.
After Thursday's record-setting high temperatures, the storm means the area is getting "back to reality," quipped William J. Alder, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service regional headquarters on North Temple.
Thursday was positively sweltering for December, turning in a record of 63 degrees. The previous high for any Dec. 3, set in 1939, was 59 degrees. But then the temperature dropped all night, winds ripped through the region, and a storm lumbered in.
Blasts of wind rattled ski resorts: Gusts of 94 mph were recorded at Alta, 75 mph at Park City and 80 mph at Snowbird. Salt Lake International Airport had a gust of 44 mph, while West Valley City had 51 mph; Stansbury Park, Tooele County, 46 mph; and Holladay, 45 mph.
"The front came by just before 7," Alder said shortly after that time this morning. It was accompanied by lightning and thunder.
A heavy storm warning is in effect for the entire Wasatch Front, from Cache Valley to Nephi, he said. At least 4 to 8 inches should fall in the valleys before the storm ends Saturday morning. "We expect a little lake effect to enhance it in Davis and Salt Lake counties tonight," he said.
Mountain ski resorts will get 18 to 24 inches. A break will come on Saturday, but it will be followed by "another round of snow on Sunday," he said.