Avalanche in Alaska, April 16, 1999

Name: Avalanche in Alaska, April 16, 1999
Start: 1999-04-16T12:00
End: 1999-04-16T18:00
Location: Alaska

April 16, 1999 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 avalanche, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $3,000
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.

Event by event

1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Avalanche, Susitna Valley

When: April 16, 12:00 PM AST to 6:00 PM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Kenneth Hayes, 44, of Healy, Alaska was killed by an avalanche Friday afternoon. His body was recovered at about 10:30 am Saturday in the debris. Hayes was among 12 snowmachiners riding the "Big Notch in the Mountains" at Jack River Canyon, about 12 miles south of Cantwell, when a slide broke loose shortly before 4 pm.A total of five riders were caught in the avalanche. Four of them were dug out by other riders. Sophie Dickman, 37, of Two Rivers (near Fairbanks) suffered a broken leg. Ken Wench, 35, of Seattle, also suffered a leg injury.

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Avalanche, Susitna Valley	1999-04-16	44	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

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 Alaska in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, April 1999

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: 5689787.