A 57-year-old male was killed in avalanche on Square Top Peak along the Park City ridgeline.
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 57-year-old male was killed in avalanche on Square Top Peak along the Park City ridgeline.
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 Jan 31, 3:58 PM MST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 358 PM MST Sun Jan 31 2021 .SYNOPSIS...High pressure will reside across the area through the early portion of the week. Another low pressure system is expected to cross the region during the midweek period. && .SHORT TERM (Through 00Z Wednesday)... Mid level ridge axis shifting east of the forecast area tonight with southwesterly flow developing aloft. This will continue a moderating temperature trend (for non-inverted valleys like the Cache and Uinta Basin), but will also usher in some increasing mid and high level cloud cover for Monday as a weak, moisture starved wave ripples by. Southwesterly winds will increase a bit more into Tuesday as the next trough approaches along the west coast, and tightens up the pressure gradient across the region. While not expected to be overly windy, the increased flow will help with mixing across western Utah, especially in non-snow covered valleys, and will promote more warming with temperatures into the 50s along much of the I-15 corridor (except 60s in SGU and 40s closer to Idaho). Thus despite the ridging not expecting terrible inversion conditions to develop along the Wasatch Front, although a slight increase in haze is not out of the question. .LONG TERM (After 00Z Wednesday)... The extended period will be characterized by cooler temperatures and two storm systems bringing chances for precipitation with best chances on Wednesday. A highly amplified, positively tilted trough will be located along and off the west coast 00Z Wednesday as the southern portion of the trough digs more south. Models remain somewhat split on whether the southern energy completely unphases and closes off from the northward trough energy. About 80% of 12Z CMC, GFS, ECMWF ensemble members have this southern energy becoming closed and disconnected. The only deterministic 12Z model keeping the energy phased is the GFS which favors more QPF and mountain snow. Went with NBM which leans lighter in QPF, the bulk of which will fall Wednesday, with some lingering chances with cold, slightly moist northwest flow Thursday. Little no accumulation is expected in valley locations west of the Wasatch with light to moderate accumulations possible in the mountains, especially the north and central Utah mountains. Cold air will settle in behind this system into next weekend but a majority of model guidance is trending the deeper trough structure and colder air further east (Rockies and east). Tied to this is a northward trend of a second shortwave trough Friday and early Saturday which most guidance now tracks into WY and CO. In addition, the trough is less amplified and supports overall lower PoPs for snow which will be mainly confined to north and east portions of Utah, and southwest Wyoming. && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will continue at the SLC terminal with CIGs around 18 kft AGL. Southerly winds around 10 knots are expected to turn southeast at 5 knots between 03-05Z. There is a 30% chance winds turn back northwest 5-10 knots between 23-02Z. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...None. WY...None. && SHORT TERM...Church LONG TERM...Burghardt AVIATION...Burghardt For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity For frequently asked questions about the Area Forecast Discussion visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity/general/afd_faqs.php
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 355 AM MST Sun Jan 31 2021 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-011200- 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- 355 AM MST Sun Jan 31 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the western two thirds of Utah and southwest Wyoming. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday The next storm system will cross the area late Tuesday through Wednesday. Accumulating mountain snowfall can be expected during this time, with valley rain Wednesday potentially changing over to snow before ending Wednesday evening. Be sure to monitor later forecasts for updated information as this system gets closer. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed. Please relay any information about observed severe weather to the NWS while following all local, state, and CDC guidelines. For more information from NOAA/s National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity For information on potential road travel impacts visit... http://www.udottraffic.utah.gov/roadweatherforecast.aspx
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
A 57-year-old male was killed in an avalanche on Square Top Peak along the Park City ridgeline. In the two days leading up to the avalanche, there was a storm system that brought around 14 inches of new snow, with over an inch of snow water equivalent.
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 | 2021-01-31 | 57 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2021
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: 937996.