Utah, 1998

Cold in Utah, December 21 to 24, 1998

December 21 to 24, 1998 · NWS SLC · 27 events in 27 counties and zones

Bitterly cold arctic air swept over the state, bringing sub-zero readings to most areas. The extreme cold caused quite a few problems with frozen pipes.

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
0
Property damage
$20,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
27

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.

Bitterly cold arctic air swept over the state, bringing sub-zero readings to most areas. The extreme cold caused quite a few problems with frozen pipes. The coldest readings recorded during the arctic blast were -40 at Greenville, -34 at Roosevelt, -30 in Milford, -29 at Woodruff, -27 at Manti, -26 at Randolph, -25 in Joseph and Delta, -24 in Richfield and -23 at Duchesne.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

27 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Beaver T X E/Iron T Xs Xe

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Beaver T X E/Iron T Xs Xe forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, C E Summit/X Ne Wasatch/N Duchesne

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
C E Summit/X Ne Wasatch/N Duchesne forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, C Ec Xse Duchesne

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
C Ec Xse Duchesne forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, C Grand

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
C Grand forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, C Sc Sanpete/C Sevier

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
C Sc Sanpete/C Sevier forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, C Uintah

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
C Uintah forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.125, -109.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, C W Box Elder/C W Xe Toole/X W Salt Lake/X Nw Utah

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
C W Box Elder/C W Xe Toole/X W Salt Lake/X Nw Utah forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Daggett/N Uintah

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Daggett/N Uintah forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
40.506, -109.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, E Wasatch T X Ne/S Wc Duchesne/X Ne San Pete/Carbon T Sc/P X Ne X Nw Emery

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
E Wasatch T X Ne/S Wc Duchesne/X Ne San Pete/Carbon T Sc/P X Ne X Nw Emery forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Emery T Nw X Ne/C E Wayne/P Sc Carbon

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Emery T Nw X Ne/C E Wayne/P Sc Carbon forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Kane T X Nw X E/Sc Garfield

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Kane T X Nw X E/Sc Garfield forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Millard T X E/Juab T X E

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Millard T X E/Juab T X E forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Ne Garfield/X Sc X Se Wayne/C N San Juan

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Ne Garfield/X Sc X Se Wayne/C N San Juan forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Nw Cache

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Nw Cache forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, P Sc Carbon/Nw Emery T X Nw

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
P Sc Carbon/Nw Emery T X Nw forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, S Grand

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
S Grand forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
38.982, -109.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, S Uintah/N Grand

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
S Uintah/N Grand forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.554, -109.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Sc Se San Juan

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Sc Se San Juan forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
37.626, -109.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Sc Washington

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Sc Washington forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, Sw San Juan/X E Kane/Se Garfield

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Sw San Juan/X E Kane/Se Garfield forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, W Utah T X Nw/P X E Juab

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
W Utah T X Nw/P X E Juab forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Cold/Wind Chill, X Nw Kane/Xs Xe Iron/N W Washington/Nw Wc Garfield/Piute/W Wayne/Sevier T C/X E Millard/S Sanpete T Sc/X Se Juab/P X Nw Emery/X E Beaver

When
December 21, 6:00 AM MST to December 24, 6:00 AM MST
Where
X Nw Kane/Xs Xe Iron/N W Washington/Nw Wc Garfield/Piute/W Wayne/Sevier T C/X E Millard/S Sanpete T Sc/X Se Juab/P X Nw Emery/X E Beaver forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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: 5676134, 5676135, 5676136, 5676137, 5676138, 5676139, 5676140, 5676141, 5676142, 5676143, 5676144, 5676145, 5676146, 5676147, 5676148, 5676149, 5676150, 5676151, 5676152, 5676153, 5676154, 5676155, 5676156, 5676157, 5676158, 5676268, 5676269.