Weather around the state was blustery Monday. Winds at the airport in Bryce Canyon measured above 40 miles per hour for much of the day and gusts in Logan reached 49 miles per hour late in the afternoon.
However, none of these winds compared to those in Cedar City, which experienced gusts in the 60s and 70s according to the National Weather Service.
Nine trees on the Southern Utah University campus were uprooted. The largest of those, a 60 to 70 foot pine, came to rest on South Hall. Amy McIff, a spokesperson for the university, said damage was minor.
“Surprisingly enough, there has not been any appreciable damage. They’ll be able to tell once they get the tree off of the roof…but as far as they can tell from an inspection in the interior of the building, there really hasn’t been too much damage,” McIff said.
McIff said the university was lucky to have no injuries or damages to vehicles from the fallen trees—especially because the sudden nature of the winds did not allow SUU to cancel classes.
“Though we’re sad to lose these trees because they’ve been on campus for so long and they’re sort of part of our legacy here at SUU, we’re glad that no one was hurt,” McIff said.
McIff said that the university will remove one additional tree Tuesday out of precaution. A wind advisory is in effect for much of western and southern Utah through 7 p.m. Monday evening.