Utah, 2001

High Wind in Utah, May 2 to 4, 2001

May 2 to 4, 2001 · NWS SLC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong canyon winds developed along the Wasatch Front late on the 2nd, lasting into the wee hours of the 4th. The storm caused an estimated 3 million dollars in property damage in Davis and Salt Lake Counties, and several hundred thousand dollars damage to trees.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3.0 million
Crop damage
$400,000
Events
2

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.

Strong canyon winds developed along the Wasatch Front late on the 2nd, lasting into the wee hours of the 4th. The storm caused an estimated 3 million dollars in property damage in Davis and Salt Lake Counties, and several hundred thousand dollars damage to trees. The worst damage was reported in East Sandy and Cottonwood Heights. A semi truck was overturned on I-15 in Centerville on the 3rd, and a large tree smashed into a house in Farmington. No injuries were reported. Some of the stronger wind gusts included 77 mph (67 kts) in Bountiful, 76 mph (66 kts) in Centerville, 74 mph (64 kts) at Willow Creek, 71 mph (62 kts) in West Valley City, 70 mph (61 kts) in Sandy, 60 mph (52 kts) at Hill AFB, and 59 mph (51 kts) in South Ogden.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 2, 8:50 PM MST, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 8:50 PM MST, 10 minutes before
UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
950 PM MDT WED MAY 2 2001

SYNOPSIS...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL KEEP COOL...UNSETTLED AND
WINDY WEATHER OVER UTAH THROUGH FRIDAY.

DISCUSSION...UPDATED EARLIER TO INCLUDE THE GREAT SALT LAKE AREA IN
THE HIGH WIND WARNING AND ADD ADVISORIES TO THE WASATCH MOUNTAIN
VALLEYS AND WESTERN UINTA BASIN. ALSO TOUCHED UP WORDING AND REMOVED
SHOWERS IN THE SOUTHEAST AS WELL.

ALL THINGS GO FROM HERE ON OUR HIGH WIND EVENT. THE NEW ETA IS MORE
IMPRESSIVE AND SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS AVN RUNS. H7 WINDS INCREASE
TO 50+ KNOTS BY 09Z. AT THE SAME TIME THE CRITICAL LEVEL (MID LEVEL
INVERSION) DEVELOPS FROM 600-650MB. H7 THERMAL ADVECTION ALONG THE
WASATCH FRONT VARIES FROM -5C/12HR TO -10C/12HR AT 12Z. LASTLY THE
NORTHEASTERLY SURFACE GRADIENT IS PROGGED TO BE NEAR 9MB.

THE REST OF THE FORECAST AND PREVIOUS DISCUSSION HANDLED EVERYTHING
GREAT.

SLC 5544 CDC 6544  MAIER

.SLC...WIND ADVISORY CACHE VALLEY...SOUTHERN WASATCH FRONT...WASATCH
MOUNTAIN VALLEYS...WESTERN UINTA BASIN...CASTLE VALLEY AND SAN
RAFAEL SWELL LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...
UTZ001-004-006-011>013-IDZ024...
...HIGH WIND WARNING GREAT SALT LAKE AREA...CENTRAL AND NORTHERN
WASATCH FRONT AND NORTHERN MTNS LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...
UTZ002>003-005-007>010.

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis

When
May 2, 9:00 PM MST to May 4, 3:00 AM MST
Where
Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis forecast zone
Measured
67 kt (77 mph)
Property damage
$1.5 million
Crop damage
$100,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

High Wind, W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E

When
May 2, 9:00 PM MST to May 4, 3:00 AM MST
Where
W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E forecast zone
Measured
64 kt (74 mph)
Property damage
$1.5 million
Crop damage
$300,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

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

More

Every storm in Utah in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, May 2001

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: 5275204, 5275205.