High Wind in Utah, September 15 to 16, 1996

Name: High Wind in Utah, September 15 to 16, 1996
Start: 1996-09-15T22:50
End: 1996-09-16T02:50
Location: Utah

September 15 to 16, 1996 · NWS SLC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A cold front moved into northwest Utah around midnight. The Utah Highway Patrol estimated northwest winds 45-50 mph (39-43 kts) with gusts to 60 mph (52 kts) across the Great Salt Lake Desert.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.

A cold front moved into northwest Utah around midnight. The Utah Highway Patrol estimated northwest winds 45-50 mph (39-43 kts) with gusts to 60 mph (52 kts) across the Great Salt Lake Desert. Blowing salt and sand reduced visibilities to near zero on several stretches of Interstate-80.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful

When: September 15, 10:50 PM MST to September 16, 2:50 AM MST
Where: Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Utah in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, September 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5570142.