SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Tumbleweeds conjure images of the Old West, rolling through desolate towns as twisted balls of dead foliage. But while a staple of Western films, they are an unusual sight in 21st-century Utah.
The town of South Jordan is experiencing tumblewoods, downed trees and wind damage as a severe winter storm howls through the area located about 15 miles north of Salt Lake City, KTVX reported.
The Eurasian species, also known as Russian thistle, is listed as a noxious weed in 46 states, according to Nature Collective. It was believed to have been accidentally introduced into South Dakota during the 1870s, according to the website.
This week in Utah, officials are attempting to get rid of the tumbleweeds, which are surrounding homes and clogging driveways, KTVX reported. Some town officials brought dumpsters to neighborhoods to collect amd remove the tumbleweeds.
The Wild West? South Jordan #Utah sure looks that way!@cajaaw captured extremely strong pre-frontal winds that were gusting in the 50-65 mph range & littered the Daybreak community with tumbleweeds #utwx @abc4utah @spann pic.twitter.com/ofP68lVnmR
— Alana Brophy (@AlanaBrophyWX) March 2, 2024
“We understand there may also be other wind damage to city infrastructure,” city officials told the television station.
“You take pictures, you take videos,” South Jordan resident John Young told KSL-TV. “And you hope the wind changes.”
As heavy winds blew through South Jordan, removing the tumbleweeds became a challenge. And for one resident, a sport as the weed kept coming back.
“Yeah, oh yeah,” resident Stan Romero told KSL. “It twirls.
“And boom. It was 10-foot high coming in the garage.”
The same winds that brought the tumbleweeds to South Jordan were toppling trees and causing hazardous road conditions throughout the state, according to KTVX.
Luckily, it’s something we can handle,” Rachel Van Cleave, communications manager for South Jordan, told KSL. “This is not our first tumblemegadon.”
“What do you do?” Young told the television station. “You just laugh. There’s nothing to do but laugh.”
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