FEMA Grants Salt Lake City $2.4 Million For Damaging Wind Event in 2020

19 Jan 2022, 4:00 am

Salt Lake City is getting reimbursed for recovery efforts needed after a damaging downslope wind event in September of 2020.

We have been mentioning the high winds and you may be familiar with the term "downslope winds". Attached our graphics where we expect the strongest winds to occur and an info graphic about downslope wind storms. pic.twitter.com/ZDXctlWuuT

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) September 7, 2020

The $2.4 million in funds from FEMA are in addition to previous disaster money approved earlier, for a total of $5.4 million. Wind gusts in the valleys around Salt Lake City and surrounding communities peaked at 99 mph, with even stronger winds in the higher elevation mountains and canyons.

The winds downed trees across the region, created a large amount of debris and damage to infrastructure, in addition to turning over trucks on the highway. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles were issued to keep roads safe.

Truckers, please don't risk it! The restrictions are in place for good reason. We continue to see toppled semis due to the wind gusts in North Salt Lake County and Davis County (including a couple on Legacy Highway). pic.twitter.com/PFUJNcjAOV

— Utah Highway Patrol (@UTHighwayPatrol) September 8, 2020

Gusts in the region picked up during the afternoon on the 7th of September, as cold air began to drain into the valleys and basins. Gusts then intensified in the lower elevations the next morning, when they became widespread enough to be picked up by seismometers in the region, likely as objects rooted in the ground swayed and toppled over.

Here is a screenshot of our equipment on North Antelope Island and Beck Street in Salt Lake recording from last night into this morning. They show pretty clearly when the wind picked up.

Stay safe out there today! pic.twitter.com/8T6WHPuRsm

— UUSS (@UUSSquake) September 8, 2020

At one time, more than 180,000 customers lost power during the event.

Power outage update from the Sept. 8, 2020, wind storm. There are 500 outages in Utah affecting 1,483 customers.
The following images show detail for Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties. @RMP_Utah reports work will likely continue into Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/YUaZzz9wBa

— Utah Division of Emergency Management (Utah DEM) (@UtahEmergency) September 15, 2020

Salt Lake City is no stranger to violent downslope wind events. In 2011, Davis County (just north of downtown Salt Lake City) incurred more than $75 million in damage.

You can read the full press release from FEMA here.

About the author

Rob Bradley

Rob grew up in South Florida, where daily afternoon storms and hurricanes piqued his interest in meteorology early on. That interest was fostered by his teachers and his father, who one time brought him onto the roof of their home to watch a funnel cloud move through the Everglades several miles away. ... Load MoreYears of filmmaking and tv production in high school gradually pushed him toward broadcast meteorology at Florida State University, where he joined and eventually led the student run daily weather show. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology, he began his career at KESQ in Palm Springs, California before heading to KFSN in Fresno and WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina. He has covered a diverse array of extreme weather events, including haboobs and flash flooding in the desert, extreme snow in the Sierra, hurricanes, and Appalachian ice storms. He also enjoys telling stories and reporting about weather issues. Connect with Rob on Twitter