Avalanche, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns
- When
- February 28, 6:00 PM AST
- Where
- Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
Avalanche in Alaska, February 28, 2004
Two hiking companions were hiking up in the area of Byron Glacier, in Portage Valley. They began hiking Saturday morning, February 28th, and were up on top of the ridge above Byron Glacier by the late afternoon.
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 AFC wrote it up.
Two hiking companions were hiking up in the area of Byron Glacier, in Portage Valley. They began hiking Saturday morning, February 28th, and were up on top of the ridge above Byron Glacier by the late afternoon. The snow cornice they were traversing gave way with one of the hikers on it at about 6 p.m. The hiker plunged nearly 4000 feet vertically and died. Alaska Mountain Rescue and the Alaska State Troopers recovered the body Sunday afternoon, February 29th.
What forecasters said that day
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 12:00 PM AST, 6 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 12:00 PM AST, 6 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA 1200 PM AST SAT FEB 28 2004 .DISCUSSION... ANALYSIS - A 5-WAVE PATTERN PERSISTS FOR THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AGAIN THIS MORNING WITH CONTINUED PROGRESSION. THE MAJOR UPPER LOW IS CENTERED 100 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SHEMYA WITH PRETTY GOOD COLD AIR. 500 MB TEMPS AT SHEMYA THIS MORNING WERE -38C. THIS IS OVER A SURFACE LOW COMPLEX WITH THE DEEPEST CENTER 959 MB 12Z. AN EXTENSIVE OCCLUDED FRONT SURROUNDS THIS SYSTEM WITH A 978 MB WAVE 150 MILES NORTH OF ADAK. ANOTHER WAVE NEAR 43/170W ON THE FRONT WAS AROUND 984 MB 12Z AND LOOKS NASTY ON SATELLITE IMAGERY. THE STRONG JET PERSISTS FROM ARABIA AND ITS UPPER LEFT QUAD SUPPORTS THE 984 MB WAVE FOR DEVELOPMENT. THE CORE SPEED ON THIS JET IS AT LEAST 170 KNOTS AS PER PIREPS. MEANWHILE IN THE GULF ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM IS APPROACHING KODIAK FROM THE SOUTHWEST AND EVEN EXTENDS JUST OFF THE SOUTHWEST COAST. THIS IS SUPPORTED ALOFT BY A SHORTWAVE WITH AN AXIS FROM NUNIVAK ISLAND THROUGH SITKINAK AT 18Z. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAVES ON THIS OLD FRONT INCLUDING A 1004 MB LOW NEAR 47/145W 12Z THAT HAS A TROPICAL CONNECTION ALL THE WAY TO THE KONA STORM THAT IS HAMMERING HAWAII. ONE WAVE FROM YESTERDAY HAS STALLED JUST SOUTHEAST OF MIDDLETON ISLAND AT 1011 MB 12Z. THE ARCTIC FRONT REMAINS E-W ACROSS THE CENTRAL INTERIOR WITH A 1011 MB LOW NEAR NORTON SOUND. CANADIAN SURFACE ANALYSES SHOW THE HIGH CELL TOWARD THE POLE AT 1055 MB 12Z. WEST FORECASTS - BASICALLY WE USED THE 12Z GFS WITH AGREEMENT FROM THE 12Z UKMET. THE OLD FRONT IS KICKING OUT TO THE NORTH AS AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE SOUTHWEST COAST. THE BACK EDGE OF THE FRONT WAS ABOUT 60 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE PRIBILOFS AS OF 20Z BUT THERE AREA NUMBER OF SHOWER BANDS BEHIND THE FRONT IN THE COLD AIR ALOFT. LOOK FOR THE FRONT TO MOVE ONTO THE SOUTHWEST COAST TONIGHT WITH A DRY SLOT THERE SUN AFTERNOON. MORE SURFACE TROUGHS WILL ROTATE AROUND THE MAIN SURFACE LOW AND ONE WILL FORM ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVING ONTO THE SOUTHWEST COAST SUN NIGHT. WE EXPECT SOME PRECIP TO MAKE IT INTO THE K-VALLEY SUN NIGHT AS THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST. ANOTHER STRONG LOW WILL MERGE WITH THE BERING SEA MAIN LOW MON AND TUE WHICH KEEPS THE MEAN POSITION OF THE UPPER LOW STILL OVER THE BERING SEA. .ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY PUBLIC...WIND ADVISORY. 181 185 195. MARINE...GALES 5B 6B 12AB 13AB 14 15. FIRE WEATHER...NONE. JC FEB 04
Event by event
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
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, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns | 2004-02-28 | 23 | 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
- Avalanche in Idaho, February 28, 2004
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Winter Storm in North Dakota, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Winter Storm in Hawaii, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 28 to 29, 2004
- Flash Flood in Hawaii, February 28, 2004
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2004
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: 5381577.