Avalanche, Northwestern San Juan Mountains
- When
- November 9, 3:30 AM MST to 3:35 AM MST
- Where
- Northwestern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.210, -107.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Avalanche in Colorado, November 9, 1998
A large avalanche occurred on Red Mountain Pass, closing US Highway 550 for about ten hours until crews could clear the snow from the road.
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
- 0
- 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 large avalanche occurred on Red Mountain Pass, closing US Highway 550 for about ten hours until crews could clear the snow from the road.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
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 Hail in Oklahoma, November 9 to 10, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, November 9, 1998
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, November 9 to 10, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, November 9, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, November 9 to 10, 1998
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Minnesota, November 9 to 11, 1998
- Tornado in Kansas, November 9, 1998
- Blizzard in South Dakota, November 9 to 10, 1998
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, November 9 to 10, 1998
- Heavy Snow in North Dakota, November 9, 1998
- High Wind in Iowa, November 9 to 10, 1998
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Illinois, November 9 to 10, 1998
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, November 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: 5676497.