Even as the first bit of precipitation rolled into Tooele City from the latest winter storm Wednesday afternoon, the Tooele County roads department had a grader and loader clearing drifted snow near Grimm Hill Road.
A family living on the road had become trapped by the drifted snow and called for help getting the road plowed, according to Tooele County Emergency Management director Bucky Whitehouse. The field north of the roadway was nearly empty of snow, but the road itself was buried under deep drifts.
One of the families trapped by the drifting snow had a four-month-old baby, so crews responded when the call came into Tooele County Emergency Management, according to Rod Thompson, county road department director. It’s not the first time the county road department has dealt with snow drifts this winter.
“The snow drifts have been ruthless,” Thompson said. “Our guys are worn out.”
Whitehouse said public works and road crews working around the county have gone above and beyond their regular duties this year due to the amount of snow and strong, persistent winds.
“We really appreciate them and what they do for our citizens,” Whitehouse said.
Other areas experiencing issues with drifting snow include the flats by the Tooele County Detention Center and the county landfill, South Rim and near Dugway, Thompson said. After a significant snowstorm, crews sometimes plow the same snow two or three times due to drifts, he said.
A total of 14.3 inches of snow fell in a storm last Wednesday, already exceeding the average snowfall for the month of February of 14.1 inches. At the end of January, Tooele Valley was above the normal water-year precipitation of 6.05 inches, at 6.29 inches.