SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Intense winds are whipping along portions of Utah today with wind gusts up to 60 mph possible in some areas. 

The strongest winds across the state will happen tonight through Wednesday afternoon as a series of low-pressure systems impact our region. Intense winds can damage property, lift loose debris into the air and cause power outages.  

“Unfortunately, we tend to see trampolines and things of that sort that can very much become airborne,” said Jona Whitesides, spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power. “We’re worried [not so much] about powerlines but property and personal safety in general.”

There is a wind advisory for the northern Wasatch Front overnight through 8 a.m. Wednesday with wind gusts going up to 45 mph. Winds will be more of a nuisance for the Wasatch Front but could be more damaging for the eastern Uinta Basin and areas south of Washington County where gusts to 60 mph are expected.  

Rocky Mountain Power has been assessing the overall risk to its infrastructure with our current wind forecast, which is based on a standard Low, Medium, and High impact scale. 

“When we look at those levels, we can decide if we need to move some crews, where we’re looking at mainly low impact in relation to the infrastructure around the territory, what we would do is put off some planned maintenance and just make sure that we have those crews available should we have an outage,” Whitesides said.

He added that winds in the Uinta Basin are more of a medium impact. 

“When we’re looking at Moderate or High impact, then we will actually move some crews around and have them on standby,” Whitesides said.

As Rocky Mountain Power prepares for the next wind event, Whitesides said that you should too. 

“Do a hazardous search of your property, see if there are things that need to be tied down, be anchored down,” Whitesides said.

With the easterly winds forecast along the northern Wasatch Front, Whitesides said it should be business as usual on Wednesday.

However, if you do happen to encounter a down power line or power pole, call 9-1-1 first and then reach out to Rocky Mountain Power.