Heavy Snow, San Juan
- When
- January 18, 9:00 PM PST to January 19, 1:00 AM PST
- Where
- San Juan forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 48.531, -123.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Washington, January 18 to 19, 1996
Heavy snow fell in most of Puget Sound. Snowfall varied from 4 inches in Seattle to 9 in Port Orchard.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 4
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 SEW wrote it up.
Heavy snow fell in most of Puget Sound. Snowfall varied from 4 inches in Seattle to 9 in Port Orchard. There were several accidents, with two involving injuries or fatalities. About 20,000 people lost power.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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, San Juan | 1996-01-18 | 49 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | 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
- Cold in Oklahoma, January 18 to 20, 1996
- Blizzard in Iowa, January 18, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 18, 1996
- High Wind in Indiana, January 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in Virginia, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Tornado in Missouri, January 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in Virginia, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, January 18, 1996
- High Wind in Alabama, January 18 to 19, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, January 18, 1996
- Tornado in Arkansas, January 18, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, January 18 to 19, 1996
More
Every storm in Washington in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5544171.