Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
No one ever thought a tornado would wreak havoc on Salt Lake City.
Summer campers never predicted they'd be shivering from snowfall.
And you'd never guess that one little Utah town was the site of the costliest landslide in U.S. history.
But that's what happens when the weather turns weird in the Beehive State. From blizzards to floods to dust storms and record-breaking temperatures, Utah's seen a lot of crazy things over the years. And some of them happened very recently.
A three-day blizzard in 1949
Utah may have "the greatest snow on earth," but that doesn't mean it doesn't cause problems. Writing for Only in Your State, Catherine Armstrong said that the worst snowstorm on record happened in 1949 when a three-day blizzard hit in January.
"The blizzard broke windows and caved-in roofs. Snowdrifts of up to 10 feet tall accumulated in driveways and along roads. The temperature plummeted to well below zero," Armstrong wrote.
Once the snow froze, plows couldn't move them, which stranded people all over northern Utah. Military cargo planes even had to enact "Operation Haylift" to drop hay to starving animals.
Snow in July
The next time someone complains about too much snow in April, you can tell them that it once snowed in the summertime. Though the National Weather Service lists the latest snowfall at the Salt Lake International Airport as May 18, 1960 (and the same day in 1977), a different news story says otherwise.
A 2010 Deseret News article reported that the headline for the July 1, 1968, edition of the Deseret News read, "Old man winter scuttles June weather records." According to the article, light snow fell in parts of Salt Lake City on June 29 of that year.
"Windy conditions and blowing snow closed highways in Yellowstone National Park at the end of June 1968," the article states. "Utah campers in shorts huddled around campfires in the daytime struggling to keep warm. Utah farmers reported severe crop damage as the lows at the Salt Lake City International Airport dipped to a record low of 40 degrees on July 1."
Floods bury the town of Thistle
If you've been around for a while, you're probably familiar with the famous floods of 1983. But you might not realize that the costliest landslide in U.S. history came as a result of that flooding. The Utah ghost town of Thistle holds that infamous designation.
"Record-breaking precipitation in the fall of 1982, followed by a deep winter snowpack, then warm spring temperatures and rapid snowmelt in 1983 set the stage for the Thistle landslide," Mark Milligan wrote for the Utah Geological Survey. "Once triggered, the slide reached a maximum speed of 3.5 feet per hour and dammed Spanish Fork River within a few days."
The landslide was 1,000 feet wide, nearly 200 feet thick and over a mile long. It flooded two major highways, interrupted railroad service between Denver and Salt Lake and was Utah's first Presidential disaster declaration.
Tornado tears through Salt Lake
Arguably the most unforgettable instance of weird weather in Utah was the tornado that ripped through downtown Salt Lake on Aug. 11, 1999. No one expected a tornado to sweep through an area surrounded by mountains — but on that morning, conditions were just right. The F2 tornado lasted 10 minutes, injured 80 people and killed one. It caused $170 million in damages and "awakened the entire state's population to the fact that the Beehive State does experience tornadoes," the National Weather Service said.
Don't worry — the weather service also points out that Utah still has one of the lowest recorded incidences of tornadoes in the country.
St. George reaches 117 degrees — twice
Unless you're a fan of heatstroke, it's probably a good idea to avoid booking July family reunions in St. George. The popular tourist destination has always been famous for its red rocks and high temperatures — but on July 5, 1985, the heat broke a record. The city set the all-time highest temperature record for the state when the mercury rose to 117 degrees Fahrenheit, Stacker reported.
Interestingly, the National Centers for Environmental Information released a report earlier this year confirming that St. George had matched its record of 117 degrees a year ago on July 10.
Dust storm leads to crash that kills 8
Extreme heat and drought conditions are to blame for many of Utah's severe weather events, including this tragedy that happened in July 2021 in central Utah. Strong winds kicked up enough dust on the freeway to cause multiple crashes, which ultimately killed eight people.
Unfortunately, the odds of this happening again are high. Reporting on the crash for Deseret News, Amy Joi O'Donoghue wrote that "Utah does not suffer from frequent, high-intensity dust storms, but as the drought continues its hold on the state, the risk of having more of them amplifies."
Should you find yourself driving toward a dust storm, the best thing to do is get off the roadway, turn off your lights, set your emergency brake and remain in the car with your seat belt on.
September sets a record for 100-degree days
This is one that most Utahns will remember — because it was just last month. If September felt unseasonably warm to you, it was for good reason. Carter Williams reported for KSL.com that the average maximum temperature ended up being 87.8 degrees, which barely defeated 1979's record of 87.5 degrees. A big reason for the record-setting average temperature was the seven days of 100-degree heat at the beginning of the month. On Sept. 7, Salt Lake reached a monthly high of 107 degrees, which ties the city's all-time record.
Before this year, Salt Lake had only ever had three days reaching the 100s in all Septembers combined.
Siegfried & Jensen
Since 1990, Siegfried & Jensen have been helping the people of Utah and surrounding states who have suffered needless injuries and death caused by car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, defective drugs, dog bites, wrongful death, and other types of personal injury.
The firm is committed to keeping Utah families and communities safe by making sure that wrongdoers are held accountable. While a lawsuit isn't always the answer when it is needed having someone on your side can mean the difference between declaring bankruptcy and rebuilding your life and moving forward, especially when you're up against an insurance company or a hospital.
Siegfried & Jensen has a 97% success rate with more than 35,000 cases and $1.2 billion recovered for their clients.
