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Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Western snowstorm draws skiers, but leaves deadly conditions

Luke Eubanks enjoys a day off from school while sledding at Hyrum Gibbons Park in Logan, Utah, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. Schools in Cache Valley were closed for the day after a snow storm. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP)
Luke Eubanks enjoys a day off from school while sledding at Hyrum Gibbons Park in Logan, Utah, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. Schools in Cache Valley were closed for the day after a snow storm. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP) Luke Eubanks enjoys a day off from school while sledding at Hyrum Gibbons Park in Logan, Utah, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. Schools in Cache Valley were closed for the day after a snow storm. (Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP)

DENVER (AP) – Skiers in the West are flocking to the mountains after a powerful storm dropped a deep layer of snow during a week that has proven to be both joyous and deadly.

At Deer Valley in Utah, Emily Summers said her boss kicked her and her co-workers out of the office Thursday and told them to hit the slopes and take advantage of a winter that only comes once a decade.

“This is the snow we dream of,” said Summers, a spokeswoman for the resort.

The storms pounded parts of California, Utah, Colorado and other states as they made their way east, creating difficult driving conditions and closing roads. Small avalanches and white-outs were reported in some areas.

In Sandy, Utah, A.J. Simmons took advantage of his day off Thursday to go sledding with his 2-year-old son for the first time.