A series of moist weather disturbances moved across Utah during the second week of February, bringing an extended period of snowfall to northern Utah. In addition to the new snow, two avalanche fatalities occurred during this period of time.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 SLC wrote it up.
A series of moist weather disturbances moved across Utah during the second week of February, bringing an extended period of snowfall to northern Utah. In addition to the new snow, two avalanche fatalities occurred during this period of time.
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 Feb 4, 8:48 PM MST, 6 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 848 PM MST TUE FEB 4 2014 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD TROUGH WILL EXIT NORTHERN UTAH TONIGHT. IN ITS WAKE A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP BY LATE WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY. THE BRUNT OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE REMAIN ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF UTAH THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. && .SHORT TERM (THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY)...HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST ZONES ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH TO ADD SNOW BACK INTO THE NARRATIVE THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY. THE EXTENSIVE AREA OF CLOUDS ACROSS SOUTHWEST IDAHO AND NORTHEAST NEVADA HAVE SHOWN COOLING TOPS AS THE CLOUD FIELD EXPANDS THE PAST HOUR OR SO. THE LATEST 00Z NAM...WHILE NOT SHOWING A WELL-DEFINED SHORTWAVE...DOES BRING DECENT LOW-LEVEL WARM ADVECTION INTO NORTHERN UTAH WITH A POCKET OF COOLING AND INCREASING MOISTURE IN THE MID-LEVELS IMPLYING UPWARD MOTION. ACCUMULATING SNOW NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION...THOUGH ANY AMOUNTS WILL REMAIN LIGHT AND CONFINED TO AREAS GENERALLY NORTH OF THE OGDEN AREA UP THROUGH THE IDAHO BORDER. HAVE ALSO ADJUSTED TEMPS UP A BIT TO ACCOUNT FOR THE INCREASED CLOUD COVER. THE MOIST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT ACROSS THE NORTHERN/CENTRAL GREAT BASIN THROUGH THE MIDWEEK PERIOD WILL OFFER UP A CONTINUATION OF SNOW TO THE FAR NORTHERN ZONES THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. THE LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE DOES SHOW AT LEAST A COUPLE OF WEEK DISTURBANCES EMBEDDED IN THE WESTERLIES WHICH WOULD PRODUCE LIFT IN THE WARM ADVECTION AHEAD OF THE DYNAMIC FEATURES FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF PERIOD OF HEAVIER SNOW AS THE DISTURBANCES MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN UTAH. AT THIS POINT NOT EXPECTING HEAVY SNOW...THOUGH THE LONG DURATION OF THE GENERALLY LIGHT SNOW WILL RESULT IN SEVERAL INCHES OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. && .PREVIOUS LONG TERM (AFTER 12Z FRIDAY)...THE NEXT COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA FRIDAY AFTERNOON. MODELS DISAGREE ON TIMING AND INTENSITY OF THE ARRIVING COLD AIR...WITH THE ECMWF LAGGING BEHIND AND THE BRUNT OF THE COLD AIR BARELY CLIPPING NORTHERN UTAH. THIS SYSTEM STILL HAS A GOOD MOISTURE TAP WITH IT...SO CHANCES STILL REMAIN GOOD FOR PRECIP ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. MODELS STILL INDICATE WARM ADVECTION ALOFT AND SHORTWAVE RIDGING FOR SATURDAY...WITH VALLEY INVERSIONS DEVELOPING FOR A BRIEF PERIOD. THE ENSUING MOIST ZONAL FLOW WILL DELIVER PRECIP TO NORTHERN UTAH ONCE AGAIN ON SUNDAY. WARMING TEMPS MAY PROMOTE A RAIN/SNOW MIX FOR THE LOWER ELEVATIONS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY...WITH COLDER AIR MOVING IN TO DROP SNOW LEVELS TO VALLEY FLOORS BY MONDAY EVENING. && .AVIATION...CEILINGS NEAR 7000-8000 FEET AT MID-EVENING WILL GRADUALLY LOWER AS SNOW DEVELOPS MAINLY TO THE NORTH OF THE TERMINAL LATE THIS EVENING. CEILINGS HOVERING AROUND 4000 TO 5000 FEET OVERNIGHT MAY BRIEFLY DROP TO AROUND 2500 TO 3000 FEET IN LIGHT SNOW. VSBYS COULD ALSO FALL IN THE IFR RANGE BRIEFLY IN SNOW SHOWERS. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL AFTER MID-MORNING WEDNESDAY WITH CEILINGS ABOVE 6000 FEET THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. LIGHT NORTH WINDS THROUGH AROUND 09-10Z WILL TURN TO A LIGHT SOUTHEAST DRAINAGE WIND AND PERSIST THROUGH 19Z. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...NONE. WY...NONE. && CONGER FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE) FOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION VISIT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY/GENERAL/AFD_FAQS.PHP (ALL LOWER CASE)
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 1000 PM MST TUE FEB 4 2014 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-051300- 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-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-SOUTHWEST WYOMING- 1000 PM MST TUE FEB 4 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SNOW WILL RETURN TO FAR NORTHERN UTAH LATE THIS EVENING. THIS SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AND COULD ACCUMULATE UP TO AROUND 2 INCHES NORTH OF THE OGDEN AREA. HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS COULD DEVELOP AS SNOW COVERS PORTIONS OF THE MAIN ROADWAYS THROUGHOUT NORTHERN UTAH. ACROSS SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL UTAH SKIES WILL TURN PARTLY CLOUDY ACROSS WESTERN HALF OF UTAH OVERNIGHT...WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE FAR SOUTH AND EAST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A GENERALLY MOIST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL SET UP ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA WEDNESDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. SNOW COULD DEVELOP AGAIN ALONG THE IDAHO BORDER WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SPREADING FARTHER SOUTH THURSDAY MORNING. SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL UTAH WILL BE MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH LITTLE OR NO PRECIPITATION. A GREATER THREAT FOR WIDESPREAD SNOW WILL ARRIVE LATE IN THE WEEK. NORTHERN UTAH WILL ONCE AGAIN BE THE FOCUS FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL...WITH HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT VALLEYS. SNOW WILL SPREAD FARTHER SOUTH DURING THE WEEKEND...WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOWS POSSIBLE IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED FROM THIS NEXT ROUND OF WINTER STORMS ACROSS MAINLY THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY/ (ALL LOWER CASE) FOR INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL ROAD TRAVEL IMPACTS VISIT... HTTP://WWW.UDOTTRAFFIC.UTAH.GOV/ROADWEATHERFORECAST.ASPX
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 winter storm, 2 avalanche, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Powder Mountain received a storm total of 36 inches new snow, while Snowbasin Resort received 28 inches of snow. Water totals in the northern Wasatch Mountains were very high; the highest was at the Tony Grove Lake SNOTEL, which reported liquid equivalent precipitation of 7.70 inches.
Storm total snowfall across the Cache Valley included 14.5 inches at Hyde Park, 12.5 inches in Richmond, and 12 inches of new snow at both Utah State University and North Logan.
Storm total snowfall in the valleys of the Wasatch Mountains included 16 inches in Eden and 10 inches at Deer Creek Dam.
Storm total snowfall included 47 inches at Brighton Resort, 32 inches at Provo Canyon, and 28 inches at Alta Ski Lifts.
The Trial Lake SNOTEL received 3.90 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 35 inches of new snow.
A group of six snowshoers were traveling just north of Tibble Fork Reservoir in American Fork Canyon when they triggered a small avalanche. One of the snowshoers, a 21-year-old female, was swept away and buried in the snow. While she was able to be resuscitated, she passed away the next day in an area hospital.
Much of the precipitation remained as rain in Coalville, and two straight days of rain proved to be too much for one of the open culverts in the town. When that drainage system failed to handle the volume of water, four homes were flooded along 150 South in Coalville, with two of those homes experiencing extensive flooding. One of the significantly damaged homes was flooded with a couple feet of water, and the other had 6 inches of water.
A group of four snowmobilers were recreating near the Left Fork Huntington Creek when one of them became stuck. Another person, a 36-year-old male, circled uphill to come help; he triggered an avalanche that buried him but did not catch the stuck snowmobilers. The other snowmobilers began rescue efforts immediately, but the victim was buried 6-8 feet deep, and he passed away at the scene.
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 I-80 | 2014-02-08 | 21 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Avalanche, Central Mountains | 2014-02-09 | 36 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, February 2014
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: 503686, 503674, 503685, 503687, 503688, 502602, 503716, 502604.