Heavy Snow Falls in Utah; Avalanches Bury 2 Vehicles

Avalanches hit Utah today as a storm dumped up to 18 inches of snow in the mountains. Snow and icy rain battered the Midwest and Northeast today, and fierce winds slammed a parked Delta Air Lines plane into a wall at Indianapolis International Airport.

The major winter storm that plowed through Utah’s northern mountains closed several highways.

Utah Highway Patrol dispatcher Ellen Parker said the storm triggered at least three snow avalanches in Little Cottonwood Canyon, southeast of Salt Lake City, burying two vehicles.

“But everybody is out of the vehicles and there were no serious injuries,” she said.

“The third storm in less than a week is currently pounding Utah with areas of heavy snow and near-blizzard conditions,” said Bill Alder of the National Weather Service.

He said storm totals in the mountains would average up to 3 feet by nightfall. “And storm No. 4, along with Santa Claus, will arrive in Utah by Christmas Eve,” he said.

A wind gust measured at 48 m.p.h. lifted the nose of a Boeing 727 jetliner and turned it 90 degrees into the wall, causing minor damage to a wing tip, officials said.

No one was aboard the plane.

A storm centered over western Lake Superior dumped snow across an area extending from North Dakota through northern and central Minnesota to upper Michigan.