‘Tumblemageddon’ is how residents described the scenes as towns in Utah were inundated with tumbleweeds as wind gusts of over 100km/h (65mph) hit the state over the weekend. The weeds formed piles up to three metres high (10 feet), in some places in South Jordan, which lies south of state capital Salt Lake City. In America, tumbleweeds are formed by invasive weeds called Russian thistle. Each winter after the plants die, the bushy parts snap off at the roots and blow away, tumbling across the landscape to disperse seeds. Strong winds damaged city infrastructure, according to ABC4, as well as knocking over trees and damaging roads throughout Utah. “Luckily, it’s something we can handle,” said Rachel Van Cleave, South Jordan communications manager. “This is not our first tumble-mageddon.” The incident was not without precedent. In Washington state in 2020, unlucky drivers saw in the new year trapped under a glut of 15ft tumbleweeds, after the plants forced authorities to close a highway in both directions. And in California in 2018 tumbleweeds shut down a whole town. In 2016 a type of tumbleweed known as “hairy panic” inundated an entire Australian town #US #tumbleweed