Utah Residents Struggle To Clear 10-Feet-High Tumbleweeds After 'Crazy' Winter Storm

Following a violent storm exceeding 100 km per hour in the Western US state of Utah, towns in South Jordan were covered with tumbleweeds. These strong winds knocked down trees, uprooted power lines, and damaged roads, bringing a massive dried-up tumbleweed storm that led to blocking highways, encircling houses, and burying cars. The weeds piled up as tall as three metres (10 feet).

The residents and the crews were left working to clean up the tumbleweeds that posed a significant problem and threat due to their major fire risk, as they could rapidly catch fire and spread.

Several videos showing the tumbleweed storm hit the internet, grabbing the attention of viewers. Sharing a video of the same, an X user with the handle ‘Raws Alert’ captioned, “Hundreds of thousands of tumbleweeds have taken over a Utah neighborhood. Currently, crews are actively working to clean up after high winds caused hundreds of thousands of dried-up tumbleweeds to pile up in a neighbourhood in South Jordan, Utah. Some cars and homes were buried by the tumbleweeds, posing a significant problem and concern due to their major fire risk, as they can rapidly catch fire and spread.”

Social media users flooded the comment section with an influx of reactions. Many users chimed in to share their experiences of how these tumbleweeds are a pain to clean up, while others voiced concerns about the risk associated with the tumbleweeds if not cleared on time.

“They should get it clear on time, it might be dangerous,” a user commented.

Added another user, “I lived in Utah for about a year when I was a kid and my siblings and I would keep the tumbleweeds as pets because our parents wouldn’t get a dog.”

“I grew up in Palm Springs, California in the early 80’s, I remember this happening out in the desert areas during the big wind storms we would get frequently. It was crazy dodging all the tumbleweeds & us kids would use them to build forts,” shared a user.

An individual posted, “This happens every spring in New Mexico. It’s a pain to clean it up.”

The clip went immensely viral, garnering over 5 million views and more than 23,000 likes on social media. Needless to say, the numbers are still increasing, leaving users in shock and amusement.

In 2020, several drivers in Washington found themselves stuck under a 15-foot tumbleweed. Similarly, a tumbleweed storm wreaked havoc in California in 2018, bringing the entire town to a screaming halt.

Tumbleweeds, which are often the bushy portions of a Russian invasive weed known as thistle, detach throughout the winter and spread across the landscape, causing disturbances and resulting in humorous yet alarming scenes captured on social media. When the plant dies, the bushy section breaks off at the root and blows away in the wind. It is this dead bushy part that poses issues as it sweeps over the terrain, often flooding entire cities.