Heavy Snow in Utah, December 5 to 6, 1996

Name: Heavy Snow in Utah, December 5 to 6, 1996
Start: 1996-12-05T13:00
End: 1996-12-06T12:00
Location: Utah

December 5 to 6, 1996 · NWS SLC · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A storm system combined with a moist westerly flow to spread heavy snow to much of the state. The valleys received from 6-11 inches while the mountains from 1-2 feet.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 20
Property damage: $300,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.

A storm system combined with a moist westerly flow to spread heavy snow to much of the state. The valleys received from 6-11 inches while the mountains from 1-2 feet. The highest total for the mountains was at the Park City ski resort where 23 inches accumulated. Bountiful measured 11 inches for highest in the valleys. The wet snow helped to trigger 6 avalanches during and shortly after the storm. A 37-year old man snowmobiling near Bountiful Peak was killed when he was overcome by one of these slides. There were also about 100 traffic accidents with 20 known injuries during this storm.

Event by event

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cache Valley/Utah Portion

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Cache Valley/Utah Portion forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Salt Lake and Toole Valleys

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Salt Lake and Toole Valleys forecast zone
Injuries: 20 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $300,000

Heavy Snow, Southern Wasatch Front/Lehi/Provo/Nephi

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Southern Wasatch Front/Lehi/Provo/Nephi forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountain Valleys/Huntsville/Park City/Heber

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountain Valleys/Huntsville/Park City/Heber forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains I80 North

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains I80 North forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains South of I80

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains South of I80 forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect

Heavy Snow, Western Unita Mountains

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Western Unita Mountains forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Castle Country/Price/Castle/Dale/Emery

When: December 5, 1:00 PM MST to December 6, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Castle Country/Price/Castle/Dale/Emery forecast zone

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains South of I80	1996-12-07	37	Male	Other	Direct

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Utah in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, December 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5582946, 5582947, 5582948, 5582949, 5582950, 5582951, 5582952, 5582953, 5582954.