Avalanche in Utah, November 7, 1998

Name: Avalanche in Utah, November 7, 1998
Start: 1998-11-07T12:30
End: 1998-11-07T13:00
Location: Utah

November 7, 1998 · NWS SLC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 avalanche, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 1
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.

Event by event

1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Avalanche, Wasatch Mountains South of I80

When: November 7, 12:30 PM MST to 1:00 PM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains South of I80 forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

A 21-year-old New Hampshire man was killed and a woman seriously injured after an avalanche swept a party of 5 snowboarders down a rocky slope in Little Cottonwood Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains. The group was descending Mt. Baldy at Snowbird when a slab of snow 80 feet by 18 inches broke loose. The northwest facing slope was at 10,500 feet elevation, and was 35-40 degrees in steepness. The avalanche fell about 500 feet through exposed rocks and cliff bands. The 21-year-old man was completely buried, and was dead when rescuers arrived. The woman injured her legs, back and chest, and was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The other 3 snowboarders managed to dig themselves out and suffered no injuries. The group had ventured into an area between Alta and Snowbird before either resort had opened, and before any crews had conducted avalanche control in the area.

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, Wasatch Mountains South of I80	1998-11-07	21	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

Every storm in Utah in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, 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: 5670862.