Utah, 2008Avalanche in Utah, December 14, 2008
December 14, 2008 · NWS SLC · 1 event in 1 county or zone
An avalanche in-bounds at the Snowbird ski resort resulted in one fatality.
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- 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.
An avalanche in-bounds at the Snowbird ski resort resulted in one fatality.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 14, 9:23 AM MST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 9:23 AM MST, 3 hours 1 minute before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
923 AM MST SUN DEC 14 2008
.SYNOPSIS...A BROAD AND RATHER COLD UPPER TROUGH WILL REMAIN OVER
THE WESTERN STATES THROUGH THE COMING WEEK. A SERIES OF WEATHER
DISTURBANCES MOVING THROUGH THE UPPER TROUGH WILL BRING PERIODIC
SNOW TO THE STATE...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHERN UTAH.
&&
.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS
EJECTING EAST FROM UTAH...AS THE NEXT UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO DEVELOP
OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. ACARS 400-250MB WIND OBSERVATIONS SHOWS A
100-135KT CYCLONICALLY CURVED JET OVER THE WESTERN CONUS FROM
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA EAST NORTHEAST OVER THE PLAINS. 12Z 700MB
ANALYSIS PLACED THE TROUGH OVER COLORADO. NEUTRAL ADVECTION WAS
OCCURRING WITH -17C NOTED AT KSLC AND UPSTREAM AT KLKN.
LAST VESTIGES OF THE STORM REMAIN IN PLACE IN THE FORM OF LAKE
ENHANCED SNOWFALL FROM THE FAR NORTH SIDE OF SALT LAKE CITY TO NORTH
OGDEN AND THE WASATCH FRONT TO THE EAST. 12Z KSLC RAOB CAN BE
CHARACTERIZED AS POTENTIALLY UNSTABLE UP TO 400MB...ALTHOUGH LACKING
MOISTURE WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUE OF 0.17 OF AN INCH.
HOWEVER...LAKE IS INJECTING QUITE A BIT OF INSTABILITY WITH WATER
TEMPERATURES NEAR 6C. WITH THE DENDRITIC ZONE NEAR THE 700MB
LEVEL...THIS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY SNOWFALL
EAST OF THE LAKE. EXPECT SNOWFALL TO GRADUALLY SHIFT NORTHWARD AND
DIMINISH THIS AFTERNOON AS FLOW BACKS IN THE LOWER LEVELS AND
TEMPERATURES BEGIN TO WARM ALOFT. WITH THAT IN MIND...HAVE
CANCELED THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ALL BUT ZONES 2/7. MARKED
COLD ADVECTION THROUGH THE COLUMN DURING THE PAST 24 HOURS WILL
SUPPORT HIGHS WELL BELOW CLIMATOLOGY. A PUBLIC INFORMATION
STATEMENT WITH UPDATED SNOW TOTALS WILL BE SENT OUT SHORTLY.
THE NEXT FEATURE TO DROP SOUTH OUT OF WRN CANADA INTO THE MEAN
TROUGH POSITION LOOKS TO BE SETTING THE SRN UTAH ZONES UP FOR A
DECENT PRECIP EVENT BEGINNING TUESDAY. THE WELL-DEFINED UPPER LOW
ALONG THE PACIFIC NW COAST AT TIME WILL CONTINUE SOUTH TO NRN CA BY
LATE MONDAY NIGHT. A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES EJECTING E-NW OUT AHEAD OF
THIS LOW WILL GENERATE ENOUGH LIFT FOR FAIRLY WIDESPREAD LIGHT
PRECIP OVER THE SRN/CNTRL ZONES TUESDAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY.
THE UPPER LOW WILL TURN EAST AND BECOME AN OPEN WAVE AS IT MOVES
THROUGH THE SRN GREAT BASIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT/THURSDAY. SOLID DYNAMIC
LIFT...MOISTURE ALONG WITH A SOLID MID-LEVEL COLD POCKET SHOULD
GENERATE PLENTY OF SNOW FOR THE SRN/CNTRL MOUNTAINS. NRN UTAH WILL
SEE SUBSTANTIALLY LESS DYNAMIC LIFT...BUT WILL REMAIN MOIST AND
UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR SOME SNOW AS THIS FEATURE PASSES TO THE SOUTH.
A NEW SYSTEM DIVING SOUTH THROUGH WRN CANADA WILL REACH THE NRN
GREAT BASIN FRIDAY. THIS FEATURE WILL REMAIN FURTHER EAST OVER THE
NRN ROCKIES/NRN GREAT BASIN...LEADING TO A MORE DIRECT HIT ON NRN
UTAH. LATEST MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE TURNS THIS FEATURE EAST FRIDAY
NIGHT IN RESPONSE TO TO THE WESTERLIES PUNCHING THROUGH THE ERN
PACIFIC RIDGE. CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS THAT THIS TURN MAY COME A BIT
TOO EARLY. THE RESULT OF A LATER TURN WOULD BE A DEEPER PUSH INTO
CNTRL UTAH AND MORE PRECIP FOR THE NORTH IF IN FACT THE LOW DIGS
FURTHER SOUTH BEFORE MAKING THE TURN. FOR NOW WONT STRAY TOO FAR
FROM CURRENT GUIDANCE...BUT AGAIN WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS
BECOMES A BIGGER EVENT FOR MORE OF THE STATE.
&&
.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THE REST OF TODAY
AT THE SLC TERMINAL AS THE WINDS ALOFT SHIFT TO SOUTHWEST AND DIVERT
ANY LAKE ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS NORTH OF THE TERMINAL. THERE IS A 30
PERCENT CHANCE OF CIGS BELOW 6000 FT AFTER 18Z.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM SUNDAY FOR UTZ002-UTZ007.
WY...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...ROGOWSKI/CONGER
AVIATION...STRUTHWOLF
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 14, 9:36 AM MST, 2 hours 48 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
936 AM MST SUN DEC 14 2008
UTZ001>011-WYZ021-151645-
CACHE VALLEY/UTAH PORTION-NORTHERN WASATCH FRONT-
SALT LAKE AND TOOELE VALLEYS-SOUTHERN WASATCH FRONT-
GREAT SALT LAKE DESERT AND MOUNTAINS-WASATCH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS-
WASATCH MOUNTAINS I-80 NORTH-WASATCH MOUNTAINS SOUTH OF I-80-
WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS-WASATCH PLATEAU/BOOK CLIFFS-
WESTERN UINTA BASIN-SOUTHWEST WYOMING-
936 AM MST SUN DEC 14 2008
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL UTAH...
NORTHERN UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH THIS
AFTERNOON. A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE
NORTHERN WASATCH FRONT AND ADJACENT MOUNTAINS TO THE EAST
INCLUDING KAYSVILLE...LAYTON...AND OGDEN. ELSEWHERE...MUCH OR ALL
OF THE ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL HAS ENDED.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
A COLD AND UNSETTLED PATTERN WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH
EARLY SATURDAY. THE NEXT ENERGETIC WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING
SNOW TO PRIMARILY SOUTHERN UTAH BEGINNING TUESDAY. THIS SNOW WILL
TURN HEAVIER ACROSS THE SOUTH LATE TUESDAY THROUGH LATE
WEDNESDAY...THEN TAPER OFF ON THURSDAY.
A MODEST WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN LATE IN THE WEEK...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHERN PORTION OF UTAH. A WEATHER DISTURBANCE
MOVING SOUTH OUT OF WESTERN CANADA COULD BRING ADDITIONAL SNOW
SHOWERS TO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS LATE IN THE WEEK.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
UTZ012>016-019>021-517-518-151645-
CASTLE COUNTRY-SAN RAFAEL SWELL-SANPETE/SEVIER VALLEYS-
WEST CENTRAL UTAH-SOUTHWEST UTAH-
UTAHS DIXIE AND ZION NATIONAL PARK-SOUTH CENTRAL UTAH-
GLEN CANYON RECREATION AREA/LAKE POWELL-CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-
SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS-
936 AM MST SUN DEC 14 2008
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL UTAH...
SOUTHERN UTAH AND SOUTHWEST UTAH.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
PARTLY CLOUDY CONDITIONS WITH A FEW DIMINISHING SNOW SHOWERS ARE
EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTHERN UTAH.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
A COLD AND UNSETTLED PATTERN WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH
EARLY SATURDAY. THE NEXT ENERGETIC WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING
SNOW TO PRIMARILY SOUTHERN UTAH BEGINNING TUESDAY. THIS SNOW WILL
TURN HEAVIER ACROSS THE SOUTH LATE TUESDAY THROUGH LATE
WEDNESDAY...THEN TAPER OFF ON THURSDAY.
A MODEST WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN LATE IN THE WEEK...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHERN PORTION OF UTAH. A WEATHER DISTURBANCE
MOVING SOUTH OUT OF WESTERN CANADA COULD BRING ADDITIONAL SNOW
SHOWERS TO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS LATE IN THE WEEK.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
ROGOWSKI
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
Avalanche, Wasatch Mountains South of I-80
- When
- December 14, 12:24 PM MST
- Where
- Wasatch Mountains South of I-80 forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- State Official
Following the snow storm the previous day, the Mt. Baldy side of Snowbird resort was open to the public for the first time in the season. Prior to the avalanche, over a period of about 3 hours, an estimated 300 people crossed the starting zone of the avalanche or skied over the slope that eventually slid. At 12:24, a male snowboarder was on the high traverse of Northwest Mt. Baldy and initiated the avalanche. A 27-year-old female, who was hiking up the slope to retrieve a ski, got caught in the avalanche and was buried; she eventually died in the hospital due to injuries sustained from the avalanche.
- 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.
- Avalanche in Colorado, December 14, 20081 death · 3 events
- High Wind in New Mexico, December 14, 2008$70,000 · 62 kt wind · 2 events
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Nebraska, December 14 to 15, 200837 events
- Extreme Cold in North Dakota, December 14 to 15, 200836 events
- High Wind in Texas, December 14, 2008$25,000 · 58 kt wind · 7 events
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 14 to 15, 200826 events
- Blizzard and Winter Weather in South Dakota, December 14, 200824 events
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 14 to 15, 200824 events
- Extreme Cold in Nebraska, December 14 to 15, 200820 events
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Michigan, December 14 to 16, 200816 events
- Cold in Wisconsin, December 14 to 16, 200813 events
- Winter Weather in Iowa, December 14, 200811 events
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: 147054.