Utah residents watched the sky darken as hail the size of softballs slammed into cars, shattering windshields and denting roofs across the region. The freak storm struck with terrifying speed on Monday, trapping drivers on highways while a rare tornado touch-down added another layer of chaos.
In Utah, a large fissure has opened in the earth, cutting across the landscape in several rural areas. The crack, which has appeared in places like Cedar Valley and Enoch, has drawn attention from geologists but has not generated widespread public alarm. The Utah Geological Survey has studied the phenomenon and attributes it primarily to ground subsidence caused by the depletion of underground aqu…