Nine snowmobilers were traversing the north side of the Grand Mesa at the 10,600 foot level. The snowmobiler who was third in line triggered a small hard-slab avalanche which buried him under 5 feet of snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
Nine snowmobilers were traversing the north side of the Grand Mesa at the 10,600 foot level. The snowmobiler who was third in line triggered a small hard-slab avalanche which buried him under 5 feet of snow. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
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, Grand and Battlement Mesas / X Sc Garfield / E Mesa Except X Ne / N Delta | 1999-01-30 | 43 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 1999
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: 5685361.