Colorado, 2024

Avalanche in Colorado, January 22, 2024

January 22, 2024 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A series of Pacific storms in early to mid January brought heavy snow to the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado resulting in a dangerously unstable snowpack.

Where it happened

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The toll

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.

A series of Pacific storms in early to mid January brought heavy snow to the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado resulting in a dangerously unstable snowpack.

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, Northwestern San Juan Mountains

When
January 22, 1:00 PM MST to 2:00 PM MST
Where
Northwestern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
State Official
Coordinates
38.210, -107.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A backcountry skier, who was alone, triggered an avalanche in Waterfall Canyon, south of the town of Ophir. Avalanche danger was rated as moderate (2/5) to Considerable (3/5) on the day. The skier was caught, managed to self extricate, but succumbed to injury and exposure roughly 500-600 feet below the avalanche. The avalanche occurred on a northwest facing slope at an elevation of 10,500 feet.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Avalanche, Northwestern San Juan Mountains2024-01-2267MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

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

More

Every storm in Colorado in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, January 2024

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: 1148561.