Avalanche in Colorado, January 24, 2010

Name: Avalanche in Colorado, January 24, 2010
Start: 2010-01-24T11:55
End: 2010-01-24T12:00
Location: Colorado

January 24, 2010 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A series of winter storms brought anywhere from 1 to over 3 feet of snow to the Durango area, which caused an avalanche to release in the San Juan mountains that blasted into a vacant home.

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
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Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
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 GJT wrote it up.

A series of winter storms brought anywhere from 1 to over 3 feet of snow to the Durango area, which caused an avalanche to release in the San Juan mountains that blasted into a vacant home.

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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 24, 11:15 AM MST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 11:15 AM MST, 40 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 24, 5:45 AM MST, 6 hours 10 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 24, 7:27 AM MST, 4 hours 28 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 24, 7:46 AM MST, 4 hours 9 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 24, 8:24 AM MST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 24, 8:26 AM MST, 3 hours 29 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 24, 8:43 AM MST, 3 hours 12 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Avalanche, Animas River Basin

When: January 24, 11:55 AM MST to 12:00 PM MST
Where: Animas River Basin forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 37.287, -107.843 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On the northwest side of Animas Mountain within the Durango city limits, an avalanche roared into a house. The homeowners were about to move into the 15 year old home within the following 2 weeks. Snow blasted through an exterior wall and blew loose drywall onto an interior wall. One bedroom was completely filled with snow, and the home suffered severe structural damage. The avalanche ran about 600 vertical feet with a 150 foot wide path. The damaged home was discovered Sunday, January 24, but the actual time of the avalanche is unknown.

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 Colorado in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, January 2010

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: 219100.