Avalanche, Upper Snake Highlands
- When
- January 3, 3:00 PM MST to 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Upper Snake Highlands forecast zone
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
Avalanche in Idaho, January 3, 1998
During the first week of January, dangerous avalanche conditions prevailed in the mountainous regions of central and eastern Idaho. On January 3rd one avalanche killed a snowmobiler near Island Park.
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- 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 BOI wrote it up.
During the first week of January, dangerous avalanche conditions prevailed in the mountainous regions of central and eastern Idaho. On January 3rd one avalanche killed a snowmobiler near Island Park. In the same area and at roughly the same time, a second snow snowmobiler was reported missing and presumed dead due to a second avalanche. At the time of publishing of this report, the victim remains missing.
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, Upper Snake Highlands | 1998-01-03 | 37 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Avalanche, Upper Snake Highlands | 1998-01-03 | 59 | 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
- Flash Flood in Puerto Rico, January 3, 1998
- Winter Storm in California, January 3 to 4, 1998
- Ice Storm in Kansas, January 3 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 3, 1998
- Hail in Texas, January 3, 1998
- High Wind in Alaska, January 3 to 5, 1998
- Winter Storm in California, January 3 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Rain in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 1998
- Heavy Rain in Oregon, January 3, 1998
- Winter Storm in Washington, January 3, 1998
- Heat in Connecticut, January 3, 1998
- Heat in Massachusetts, January 3, 1998
More
Every storm in Idaho in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, 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: 5627479.