Avalanche, Northwestern San Juan Mountains
- When
- January 21, 3:45 PM MST
- Where
- Northwestern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.210, -107.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Avalanche in Colorado, January 21, 1998
A snowboarder was carried off in an avalanche and buried while skiing down San Bernardo Mountain, 8 miles southwest of Telluride. The unstable snowpack resulted from heavy snowfall and wind loading which occurred on the previous day.
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
- 0
- 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 GJT wrote it up.
A snowboarder was carried off in an avalanche and buried while skiing down San Bernardo Mountain, 8 miles southwest of Telluride. The unstable snowpack resulted from heavy snowfall and wind loading which occurred on the previous day.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 avalanche. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, Northwestern San Juan Mountains | 1998-01-21 | 25 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- Avalanche
- A mass of snow sliding down a mountainside that caused a death, an injury or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, January 21 to 28, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, January 21, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, January 21 to 25, 1998
- Flash Flood in Texas, January 21 to 22, 1998
- Flash Flood in Texas, January 21 to 22, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Louisiana, January 21, 1998
- Flooding in Nebraska, January 21 to 31, 1998
- Winter Weather in Michigan, January 21, 1998
- Hail in Texas, January 21, 1998
- Hail in Texas, January 21, 1998
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, January 21, 1998
- Hail in Texas, January 21, 1998
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 1998
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: 5629744.