Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 hurricane-force winds wreaked havoc in northern Utah (we had to go sleep in the basement because of the noise), blowing over semitrailers, toppling trees, downing power lines, forcing the closures of schools, and created extensive property damage across Davis and Weber counties. The strongest winds were reported near Centerville, where gusts of 102 mph, 100 mph and 86 mph were recorded by the National Weather Service. A 100 mph wind gust is the same as a Category 2 hurricane. Estimates put the damage in Centerville alone at $8 million.
Bountiful had wind gusts of 78 mph and at the U of U 69 mph. (This information came from the Deseret News-Dec. 2, 2011...)
These winds were unlike canyon winds that create local gusts at the mouths of individual canyons, the larger weather pattern created down-slope winds that were most intense along I-15 and the Legacy Highway. It's like a wave of wind coming over the mountains. The bench area was in the tube of the wave, it got wind but avoided the impact. Areas like Centerville and West Bountiful took most of the wave's crash and had the most severe damage (per KSL-TV meteorologist Kevin Eubank). In Bountiful, 40% of homes were still without power at 9:00 p.m. (luckily ours came on before that)...
Twenty-eight schools in Davis county were closed on Friday because of storm-related issues. In addition, windows in 30 buses were shattered.
Damage at our house was minimal...blown over deck furniture, our hot tub cover got bent, we lost a lot of shingles,and a pine tree was uprooted. The grandkids came over and were very scared...as we drove around our neighborhood, the damage was more extensive (see photos below):
Photos taken in downtown Bountiful, West Bountiful and Centerville...someone is going to have to get a new tramp!
Chris &Shannon had lots of shingles blown off their roof, their fence was damaged, and their yard was a mess...
