Winter Storm and Avalanche in Utah, January 11 to 15, 2024

Several SNOTEL stations including Parley's Summit, Lightning Ridge, and Tony Grove Lake recorded roughly 2.1 to 6.0 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 22 to 73 inches of snow. Some additional snowfall reports from the snow safety community include 50.0 inches at Powder Mountain, 34.0 inches at Snowbasin Resort, and 19.0 inches at Logan Mountains. Strong winds were also noted, with several observations at the Snowbasin - Straw Top mesonet site in excess of 70 mph (with a peak gust of 104 mph at 2:30 am MST 1/14), and wind gusts in excess of 70 mph also noted at Logan Peak, Logan Summit, Peter Sinks Rim, and several other mesonet sites.

Several SNOTEL stations including Timpanogos Divide, Thaynes Canyon, and Atwater recorded roughly 1.8 to 5.5 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 22 to 71 inches of snow. Some additional snowfall reports from the snow safety community include 57.0 inches at Alta Ski Area, 48.0 inches at Brighton, and 31.5 inches at Snowbird. Strong winds were also noted, with several observations at Hidden Peak in excess of 100 mph (with a peak gust of 117 mph at 7:45 pm MST 1/12), and wind gusts in excess of 70 mph also noted at mesonet sites such as Mt. Baldy and Arrowhead Summit.

A combination of a COOP observer, a CoCoRaHS observer, and public reports included snowfall amounts of 23.3 inches at Wanship 1 NW, 22.0 inches at Midway, 16.0 inches at 1 SW Liberty, 10.5 inches at Deer Creek Dam, and 10.0 inches at 1 NW Heber City. Additionally, strong wind gusts were observed through the event, including a gust of 59 mph at Trappers Loop Road mesonet site, a gust of 65 mph at the Eden mesonet site, a 61 mph gust at the I-80 @ Silver Ck Jct mesonet site, and several gusts in excess of 60 mph (peak gust of 69 mph at 6:50 pm MST 1/12) at the US-189 at Deer Creek Dam mesonet site.

Several SNOTEL stations including Rock Creek, Buck Pasture, and Trial Lake recorded around 1.0 to 3.0 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 12 to 39 inches of snow. Additional reports included 34.0 inches at Heber City 10.1 ESE CoCoRaHS, and a public report of 16.0 inches at 6 E Heber City. Strong winds were also noted, with several observations at the Windy Peak mesonet site in excess of 70 mph (with a peak gust of 98 mph at 5:00 pm MST 1/12), and wind gusts at or above 70 mph at the Trial Lake mesonet site.

Several SNOTEL stations including Timberline, Hobble Creek, and Huntington Horse recorded around 0.9 to 4.3 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 12 to 56 inches of snow. Strong winds were also noted, with several observations at the Monument Peak mesonet site in excess of 70 mph (with a peak gust of 88 mph at 10:20 pm MST 1/12), and wind gusts at or above 60 mph at the Ford Ridge mesonet site. Wind gusts above 50 mph were also observed through the event at mesonet sites including US-6 at Bear BS Tripod, Rays Valley, Soldier Summit, and Soldier Summit Ridge.

At around 6:20 am MST, a natural avalanche occurred near the Dugway section of Logan Canyon. Per the Utah Avalanche Center report, this slab avalanche of wind-drifted snow started around 6000 feet on a west facing slope, had a vertical run of 150 feet, a width of 80 feet, and a depth of 2 feet. The avalanche hit a car on US-89 and pushed it against a guard rail, but no injuries were reported. This avalanche resulted in closure of US-89 in Logan Canyon between milepost 460 (near Logan) and milepost 490 (near Garden City/Bear Lake) for over 24 hours.

Numerous strong wind gusts were observed at mesonet sites through the event, including I-80 at MP 78 (76 mph), I-80 at MP 79 Timpie (74 mph), Vernon Hill (67 mph), and I-80 at MP 81 Dolomite (61 mph). A prolonged period of sustained winds in excess of 40 mph were also noted at the Vernon Hill mesonet site.

A group of several skiers were backcountry skiing in the of Porter Fork area within Millcreek Canyon on Friday, January 12. The group completed multiple runs in the West Porter Fork portion, and on their third ascent, opted to exit Main Porter Fork from West Porter Fork. As they were exiting, an avalanche was triggered, and one of the skiers in the group was unable to get to a safe location before the slide caught and fully buried him. After several minutes of beacon searching, they were able to successfully locate and probe the buried skier approximately 4 feet deep. The group worked quickly to uncover the buried skier, and once uncovered, it was discovered the buried skier was unconscious and was breathing very shallowly. While calling emergency services and deliberating who should preform CPR on the injured skier, the skier gradually began to show improved breathing, and slowly regained consciousness. While further injuries were initially feared, after some time the skier was able to ski out of the area. The Utah Avalanche Center danger rating for the day was listed as High at elevations above 8000 feet, and Considerable at elevations below 8000 feet. Specific timing of the avalanche was not stated, thus event time is estimated.

COOP observers reported snowfall amounts of 21.0 inches in Laketown, and 8.0 inches in Randolph. Additionally, strong winds were noted with the storm. The Bear Lake mesonet sensor recorded a peak gust of 60 mph, and the FW8325 Garden City mesonet site reported a peak gust of 60 mph. Periods of lesser gusts were noted elsewhere through the storm.

Several SNOTEL stations including GBRC Meadows, Pickle Keg, and Buck Flat recorded around 0.9 to 2.0 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 12 to 26 inches of snow. Strong wind gusts were also observed through the event at mesonet sites including SR-72 at Hogan Pass (76 mph), Sunset Ridge (60 mph), Bear Valley Canyon (60 mph), and Joes Valley (59 mph).

A combination of a CoCoRaHS observer and public reports included snowfall amounts of 10.9 inches at Garland 1.0 SE, 7.8 inches at Brigham City 0.6 W, 7.4 inches at Bear River City 2.3 WNW, and 7.0 inches at Thatcher 0.2 NE.

A combination of COOP and CoCoRaHS observer reports included snowfall amounts of 11.3 inches at Hyrum 0.8 SE, 10.9 inches at Logan Radio KVNU, 10.3 inches at Trenton, 7.0 inches at Smithfield, and 7.0 inches at Logan 0.9 NNE.

A group of snowmobilers (estimated at 5 total) were riding in American Fork Canyon Saturday January 13 at an elevation of approximately 10000 feet on a northeast aspect. An avalanche was unintentionally triggered, catching 3 of the members, resulting in partial burial of 2 members, and full burial of 1 member. Of the 2 partial burials, one member deployed an airbag and was able to dig themselves out. The other was buried with a hand sticking out, and was able to be immediately dug out by other group members (with no injuries reported). The group member who was fully buried was buried for around 5 minutes before the group could locate and uncover them. They were unconscious and reportedly turning blue, but regained consciousness thereafter with no further injury reported. An avalanche accident and rescue summary was reported by a third party, and specific timing of the avalanche was not stated, thus the event time is estimated.