Avalanche, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada
- When
- February 6, 4:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
Avalanche in California, February 6, 1999
Four individuals were buried while sledding outside their lakeside cabin near the Sugar Bowl ski resort. Three of the individuals were able to dig themselves out and only sustained minor injuries.
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 3
- 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 STO wrote it up.
Four individuals were buried while sledding outside their lakeside cabin near the Sugar Bowl ski resort. Three of the individuals were able to dig themselves out and only sustained minor injuries. The fourth died of cardiac arrest after being trapped in the snow for six hours.
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, West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada | 1999-02-06 | 21 | Male | Other | 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
- Avalanche in Colorado, February 6, 1999
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 6, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, February 6, 1999
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, February 6 to 7, 1999
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, February 6, 1999
- High Wind in Nevada, February 6, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, February 6 to 11, 1999
- High Wind in California, February 6 to 7, 1999
- Winter Storm in Idaho, February 6 to 7, 1999
- High Wind in Nevada, February 6, 1999
- Tornado in Arkansas, February 6, 1999
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, February 6, 1999
More
Every storm in California in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in California, February 1999
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: 5680878.