Avalanche, Nern P.W. Snd
- When
- April 7, 12:00 PM AKST to 12:01 PM AKST
- Where
- Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
This event was first reported over network television then in the Anchorage Daily News.
Avalanche in Alaska, April 7, 2008
5 in Thompson Pass resulting in the fatality of one man.
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.
An avalanche occurred around 1 PM ADT near mile 28.5 in Thompson Pass resulting in the fatality of one man.
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 Apr 7, 11:00 AM AKST, 1 hour earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 11:00 AM AKST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA 500 PM ADT MON APR 7 2008 .MODEL DISCUSSION... THE NEW MODEL RUNS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT OVER THE BERING SEA BUT ARE STILL HAVING PROBLEMS LOCKING ONTO A CONSISTENT SOLUTION OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA AND SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA ESPECIALLY FROM WEDNESDAY ONWARD. .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... THE UPPER LOW NEAR YAKUTAT IS STILL DRIFTING EAST TOWARD NORTHERN SOUTHEAST ALASKA. ANOTHER UPPER LOW OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA WITH A TROUGH EXTENDING SOUTH INTO THE YUKON AND KUSKOKWIM DELTAS BROUGHT SOME SNOW INTO THE BETHEL AREA. THE REMNANT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA LOW IS STILL MOVING EAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF. HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHWEST ALASKA HAS BROUGHT MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES OVER THE KUSKOKWIM VALLEY AND EASTERN BRISTOL BAY. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTHCENTRAL INTERIOR IS PRODUCING WIDELY SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE COPPER RIVER BASIN. .SHORT TERM FORECAST... BERING SEA AND ALEUTIANS... THE MAIN LOW SOUTH OF THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS WILL MOVE EAST TO LIE SOUTH OF THE ALASKA PENINSULA AND WILL WEAKEN TO 1008 MB WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE ASSOCIATED OCCLUDED FRONT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA WILL WEAKEN THROUGH TONIGHT AND WILL DISSIPATE TUESDAY. THE SNOW ALONG THE FRONT WILL DIMINISH TO SNOW SHOWERS LATE TONIGHT. A DEVELOPING LOW JUST EAST OF THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTH CENTRAL BERING SEA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. MORE SNOW AND GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL MORE THROUGH THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. SOUTHWEST ALASKA... AN UPPER LOW WILL BEGIN TO DEVELOP OVER THE YUKON-KUSKOKWIM DELTA TONIGHT WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE INTERIOR SECTIONS WILL DISSIPATE TONIGHT. MORE CLOUDS AND SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA AND THE GULF... A TRIPLE POINT LOW WILL DEVELOP SOUTH OF THE ALASKA PENINSULA TONIGHT AND WILL STRENGTHEN AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GULF TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. MOST OF THE WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE CONFINED TO THE GULF AND KODIAK ISLAND. A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH WILL DEVELOP OVER THE KENAI PENINSULA AND SUSITNA VALLEY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWER WILL DEVELOP TUESDAY AND BECOME MORE NUMEROUS OVER THE KENAI PENINSULA AND PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND WEDNESDAY. ISOLATE SNOW SHOWERS WILL PERSIST OVER THE COPPER RIVER BASIN THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .LONG TERM FORECAST... THERE LOW CONFIDENCE IN THE LONG TERM FORECAST BECAUSE THE MODELS HAVE POOR CONSISTENCY. IT APPEARS THAT THE UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHWEST ALASKA WILL WEAK AS IT MOVES INTO THE SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA BY THE WEEKEND. .AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY PUBLIC...NONE. MARINE...GALE WARNING 175 AND 176. FIRE WEATHER...NONE. NM APR 08
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, Nern P.W. Snd | 2008-04-07 | 31 | 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
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, April 7 to 8, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 7 to 8, 2008
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, April 7, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, April 7 to 8, 2008
- High Surf in Hawaii, April 7, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, April 7 to 8, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Utah, April 7, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Montana, April 7 to 8, 2008
- Hail in Kansas, April 7 to 8, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, April 7, 2008
- Hail in Kansas, April 7, 2008
- Tornado in Washington, April 7, 2008
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2008
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: 79723.