Five years later: Remembering Utah’s 2020 hurricane

SALT LAKE CITY — Five years ago today, northern Utah dealt with chaos as powerful easterly winds ripped through the region, uprooting thousands of trees, overturning semi-trucks, and leaving more than 170,000 homes and businesses without power. The storm, which struck on Sept. 8, 2020, is remembered as one of the most destructive wind events in state history.

The trouble began when an unseasonably strong low-pressure system swept across the state, eventually parking over the Four Corners. The setup generated widespread easterly winds, some topping hurricane force. In Farmington, gusts reached 99 miles per hour. At the University of Utah, winds hit 89. Along I-15 and I-80, 45 semi-trucks were flipped onto their sides.

Salt Lake City’s parks and neighborhoods were devastated. Liberty Park