Heavy rain and hail hammered Wasatch County roads and gardens in a streak of severe weather Monday and Tuesday.
ABC 4 meteorologist Cedric Haynes explained heavier impacts were expected because slow-moving storms lingered above the Heber Valley.
“When they’re slow movers, that means that they can dump a lot of rainfall in a short period of time,” he said. “That could lead to some flash flooding.”
And Heber residents felt the effects.
Some found hailstones as large as quarters and filmed the balls of ice falling as thick and fast as heavy snow. Others reported flooded backyards, ruined vegetable gardens and dented cars due to the storm.
Greg Charlesworth said his property in Heber quickly flooded in the heavy downpour.
“My wife called me and she just said there was water pretty much up to our steps at our house,” he said. “When I went home, the ditches were so full they just didn’t take the water no more.”
And when the hail came, Charlesworth said ice the size of marbles damaged his home.
“When I walked around the east side of my house, all my siding was shattered from the hailstorm,” he said.
The Wasatch County Public Works Department said it didn’t receive many calls for service apart from some gravel washed onto the road and a downed tree east of town.
Heber City Public Works said it’s been busy clearing leaves and other small debris from the roads. Residents can pick up sandbags from the department ahead of storms if they are worried about flooding.
A representative from The Insurance Center in Heber said at least four claims have been filed for storm damage: two for damaged roofs and two for damaged cars. She said she’s surprised more claims haven’t been filed so far and expects more to come in.
The National Weather Service reported almost an inch of rain fell in downtown Heber over the last 48 hours. Nearly two inches of rain were recorded along U.S. 40 in Wasatch County. On average, Heber usually sees less than an inch of rain for the entire month of August.
