2A Wednesday, April 23, 2014 Wind causes rollovers near Tremonton, other hazards By BEN LOCKHART Standard-Examiner staff TREMONTON — Two semitrailers were toppled by heavy winds near the junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 84 in quick succession Tuesday afternoon, leaving one driver in serious condition. UPS and Associated Food Stores semitrailers were traveling on southbound 1-15 at about 4:30 p.m. when a burst of wind toppled them both "probably within seconds of each other," said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Lee Perry. The vehicles were about 500 yards apart at the time. The driver of the Associated Food Stores semi, a 55-year-old from Pocatello, was initially pinned in his vehicle. Tremonton fire crews extricated him, and rescue workers transported him to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden in serious condition. The other driver was treated and released at the scene. Perry said conditions near the junction were approaching a "brownout," in which wind becomes so severe that dust, tumbleweeds and other debris hamper visibility. A wind gust of about 72 mph hit the area at the time of the crashes. "Both trucks were very lightly loaded," making it more difficult to withstand the severe conditions, Lee added. The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City warned motorists of low visibility and road hazards Tuesday afternoon. It reported sustained winds of 40-plus mph and gusts approaching 60 mph throughout the Top of Utah. Gusts reached up to 96 mph on Courtesy photo Officials check a UPS semitrailer blown over by high winds Tuesday near Tremonton. The driver was treated at the scene. Mount Ogden and 80 mph at Powder Mountain Resort early Tuesday evening, according to the NWS. At the Salt Lake City airport, temperatures dropped 13 degrees in five minutes as a result of the cold front just after 5 p.m., the NWS reported. Clearer conditions are expected today in Ogden, but the expected high is 52 degrees, a 22-degree drop from Tuesday's high. Similar drops are expected in Box Elder and Da vis counties. Tuesday's severe weather was the reported cause of several moderate power outages throughout the Wasatch Front. Roughly 1,500 residents near the Ogden and Marriott-Slaterville border were without power late Tuesday night after a series of small power pole fires in the area. More than 1,000 residents in Farmington, Fruit Heights, Roy and Tremonton combined were also affected by outages caused by pole fires. "A mixture of wind, dust and rain caused a lot of damage to the (power) poles," said Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Paul Murphy. "The windstorms have caused so much damage." Contact reporter Ben Lockhart at 801-625-4221 or blockhart@stan- dard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @SE Lockhart.