Utah's Worst Windstorm in a Decade
On December 1, 2011, Northern Utah (where I grew up and my parents still live) experienced hurricane-force winds, with gusts of 90 to 100 miles per hour. The police declared school closed in Davis County, due to power outages and concerns that school buses would tip over in the gale-force winds. In my parents' neighborhood, nearly all mature trees were damaged or tipped over, including dozens of huge pine trees in the neighborhood park.
According to Christopher Smart at the Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53029513-78/winds-mph-pressure-utah.html.csp):
The east-to-west wind storm was caused by a cold air mass coupled with a high-pressure system in Wyoming and low pressure in southern California and Nevada, said Larry Dunn, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office. The unusual pressure imbalance set up cold winds that were channeled from the high pressure to the low.
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