Utah, 1998

Winter Storm in Utah, December 19 to 21, 1998

December 19 to 21, 1998 · NWS SLC · 32 events in 26 counties and zones

The leading edge of an arctic airmass brought heavy snow to much of Northern Utah late on the 19th into the 20th, with the heavy snow pushing into Southern Utah on the 21st. For awhile on the 20th, I-70 from Salina to Green River was closed due to heavy snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
10
Property damage
$100,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
32

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.

The leading edge of an arctic airmass brought heavy snow to much of Northern Utah late on the 19th into the 20th, with the heavy snow pushing into Southern Utah on the 21st. For awhile on the 20th, I-70 from Salina to Green River was closed due to heavy snow. Power outages were also noted in portions of South Jordan. Numerous traffic accidents with minor injuries were blamed on the slippery road conditions. The most serious accident occurred when a Utah Highway Patrol trooper was hit by a pickup truck on Interstate 80 while placing flares and cones around an accident scene. The trooper suffered a broken leg and wrist. Some of the heavier snowfall amounts over the period were 28-30 inches at Fremont Indian State Park, 29 inches at Elk Meadows, 23 inches in Kanosh, 22 inches in Duck Creek, 20 inches at Brian Head and 18 inches at Milford. Most valley locations received from 2-6 inches, with 6-12 inches common over many mountain locations.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

32 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains/Wendover/Snowville

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains/Wendover/Snowville forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Cache Valley/Utah Portion

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Cache Valley/Utah Portion forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountain Valleys/Huntsville/Park City/Heber

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Wasatch Mountain Valleys/Huntsville/Park City/Heber forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountains I80 North

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Wasatch Mountains I80 North forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Salt Lake and Toole Valleys

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Salt Lake and Toole Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Southern Wasatch Front/Lehi/Provo/Nephi

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Wasatch Front/Lehi/Provo/Nephi forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Southwest Utah/Cedar City/Milford

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southwest Utah/Cedar City/Milford forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Western Unita Mountains

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Western Unita Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Western Unita Basin

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Western Unita Basin forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Grand Flat

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Grand Flat forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Sanpete/Sevier Valleys

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Sanpete/Sevier Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Eastern Uinta Basin

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Uinta Basin forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.125, -109.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eastern Uinta Mountains

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Uinta Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.506, -109.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, San Rafael Swell/Greene River/Hanksville

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
San Rafael Swell/Greene River/Hanksville forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, South Central Utah/Kanab/Escalante

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
South Central Utah/Kanab/Escalante forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, West Central Utah/Delta

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
West Central Utah/Delta forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Wasatch Front/Brigham City/Ogden Bountiful forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Southeast Mountains/Canyonlands

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southeast Mountains/Canyonlands forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Cache Valley/Utah Portion

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Cache Valley/Utah Portion forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountain Valleys/Huntsville/Park City/Heber

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Wasatch Mountain Valleys/Huntsville/Park City/Heber forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Castle Country/Price/Castle/Dale/Emery

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Castle Country/Price/Castle/Dale/Emery forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountains I80 North

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Wasatch Mountains I80 North forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Arches/North la Sals

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Arches/North la Sals forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.982, -109.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tavaputs Plateau

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Tavaputs Plateau forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.554, -109.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Utah/Blanding

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southeast Utah/Blanding forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.626, -109.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Glen Canyon Recreation Area/Lake Powell

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Glen Canyon Recreation Area/Lake Powell forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Salt Lake and Toole Valleys

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Salt Lake and Toole Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountains South of I80

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Wasatch Mountains South of I80 forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Southern Wasatch Front/Lehi/Provo/Nephi

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Wasatch Front/Lehi/Provo/Nephi forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Central and Southwest Mountains

When
December 19, 6:00 PM MST to December 21, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Central and Southwest Mountains forecast zone
Injuries
10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Utah in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, December 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: 5676000, 5676001, 5676002, 5676003, 5676004, 5676005, 5676006, 5676007, 5676008, 5676009, 5676010, 5676011, 5676012, 5676013, 5676014, 5676015, 5676016, 5676119, 5676120, 5676121, 5676122, 5676123, 5676124, 5676125, 5676126, 5676127, 5676128, 5676129, 5676130, 5676131, 5676132, 5676133.