High Wind — Utah's Dixie and Zion National Park, Utah

2000-03-20 to 2000-03-21 · Utah's Dixie and Zion National Park, Utah

Wider weather episode

Strong downslope winds developed overnight across Weber County. Wind gusts estimated at 115mph (100kts) tore the roofs off of 3 condominiums in South Ogden. Major damage was also caused to the interiors of these condos, along with some toppled garage doors, a toppled brick wall, and a damaged fence nearby. Miraculously, nobody was seriously injured. Damage estimates to the area was just over 1 million dollars. These same downslope winds also caused an estimated 70 thousand dollars damage to the roof of Wasatch Hall on the campus of Weber State University, and several thousand dollars in damage due to scattered losses of fences, shingles and trees in the Ogden area. These same downslope winds in Centerville were estimated at 100mph (87kts). The wind derailed 19 cars of a 48-car train, with 13 cars being toppled over. Over 400 feet of track had to be replaced. Again, nobody was hurt. Two semis were also blown over in Centerville, where actual winds were clocked at 86mph (75kts). In the Kaysville-Layton area, the winds blew swamp coolers off of roofs, flattened trees, and damaged a garage door. In Salt Lake County, the winds uprooted and damaged several trees in Sandy and Holladay. Still, no serious injuries were reported. In East Carbon County, a 70 foot single-wide trailer was picked up and thrown onto another building along Highway 123, by winds estimated at 75mph (65kts). Several power poles were also blown down. In Sunnyside, an 86-year-old woman was injured when she opened a door, which was caught by the wind. She was thrown against a wall, suffering a cut finger and bruised hips. The wind also damaged a roof and porch of an abandoned boarding house in Columbia. In Santa Clara strong winds estimated at around 80mph (70 kts) blew over several trees, a few road signs, along with some fences and sheds.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5178365. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.