A skier was injured when an avalanche he created slammed him into a tree.
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.
The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.
A skier was injured when an avalanche he created slammed him into a tree.
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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 4:02 PM PST, 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
456 PM PDT WED MAR 31 2010
UPDATED THE SYNOPSIS...SHORT TERM...AND LONG TERM SEGMENTS.
.SYNOPSIS...A THREAT OF SHOWERS...ALBEIT LOW...WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
THURSDAY DUE TO WEAK DISTURBANCES MOVING ACROSS THE REGION. A
POWERFUL PACIFIC STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE
AREA AS WELL AS HEAVY SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS LATE THURSDAY NIGHT
THROUGH FRIDAY. IMPROVING WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR FRIDAY
NIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS BECOMING CONFINED TO THE
MOUNTAINS ON SATURDAY. ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING ANOTHER SHOT
OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW TO THE REGION ON SUNDAY.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
THERE WERE SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON. MOST
HOWEVER WERE OVER THE SRN PORTION OF THE CWA AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
EXPECT MOST OF THIS ACTIVITY TO DIE OUT AROUND OR SHORTLY AFTER
SUNSET.
A WEAK...SHORT WAVE TROF WILL BRING A RENEWED THREAT OF SHOWERS TO
THE ENTIRE CWA THU AFTERNOON. HOWEVER THE MAIN WEATHER EVENT WILL
BEGIN IMPACTING THE AREA LATE THU NIGHT THROUGH FRI. A POTENT PAC
STORM...STILL WELL OFFSHORE...WILL BRING RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW BACK
TO THE CWA LATE THU NIGHT. THE PRECIP WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY
INCREASING SLY FLOW...PARTICULARLY JUST ABOVE THE SFC. STRONG
UPSLOPE FLOW DEVELOPING OVER THE OLYMPICS THU NIGHT WILL TRANSLATE
TO PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW ON THE SW FACING SLOPES OF THE OLYMPICS
ABOVE THE 2000 FOOT LEVEL. FLOODING...ON THE SKOKOMISH IN
PARTICULAR...WAS NOT OF CONCERN BUT A PERIOD OF HEAVY RAIN AT THE
LOWER ELEVATIONS WILL RESULT IN RISES ON THIS RIVER BUT IT SHOULD
REMAIN BELOW FLOOD STAGE.
THE COLD OR OCCLUDED FRONT WILL APPROACH THE COAST FRI MORNING...
RESULTING IN A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN WIND SPEEDS. THE MODELS TEND TO
MIX TOO MUCH SLY FLOW DOWN TO THE SFC AHEAD OF COLD OR OCCLUDED
FRONTS...THUS HAVE INDICATED THE STRONGEST SPEEDS IN THE MORNING OR
WHEN THE SLY FLOW FINALLY MIXES DOWN TO THE SFC. INITIALLY...THE
WIND SHOULD BE OUT OF THE E OR SE. A HIGH WIND WATCH WAS ISSUED FOR
THE COAST FOR GUSTS AS HIGH AS 65 MPH. THE CENTRAL COAST WILL
PROBABLY EXPERIENCE THE STRONGEST WINDS.
VERY STRONG...SLY WINDS WILL ALSO DEVELOP ACROSS THE N INTERIOR ON
FRI...PROBABLY IN THE LATE MORNING OR ABOUT NOON. SPEEDS HERE ARE
EXPECTED TO REACH LOW END HIGH WIND CRITERIA /GUSTS AS HIGH AS 65
MPH/. HOWEVER THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR OVER WHIDBEY ISLAND.
ONCE THE FRONT PASSES...WINDS SHOULD DROP OFF FAIRLY QUICKLY. THE
EXCEPTION WILL BE THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA /INCLUDING WHIDBEY
ISLAND/ WHERE STRONG WEST WINDS WILL OCCUR. THE WEST WINDS HOWEVER
ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG AS THE SLY WINDS. A HIGH WIND WATCH
WAS ALSO ISSUED FOR THIS AREA.
WINDS ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE LOWLANDS WILL BE LIGHTER...ESPECIALLY
OVER THE STRAIT...BUT SPEEDS WILL LIKELY REACH ADVISORY CRITERIA
ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA.
FOR THE MOUNTAINS...THERE WILL BE PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW FRI MORNING.
LOOK FOR THE STEADY SNOW TO BECOME SHOWERY IN THE AFTERNOON BEHIND
THE FRONT. HOWEVER RELATIVELY STRONG WLY FLOW FRI AFTERNOON AND
EVENING WILL RESULT IN LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY IN
THE CASCADES. BY THE TIME THE EVENT FINALLY WINDS DOWN...THE
OLYMPICS AND CASCADES SHOULD RECEIVE ABOUT 1 TO 2 FEET OF SNOW...
HENCE THE ISSUANCE OF THE WINTER STORM WATCH.
A PUGET SOUND CONVERGENCE ZONE /PSCZ/ IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER
SNOHOMISH COUNTY FRI NIGHT WHERE IT WILL REMAIN QUASISTATIONARY THRU
AT LEAST SATURDAY MORNING. THE AIR MASS WILL BECOME FAIRLY CHILLY
BEHIND THE FRONT...THUS DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF YOU SEE SOME WET SNOW
OVER PARTS OF THE LOWLANDS LATE FRI NIGHT OR EARLY SATURDAY MORNING.
NO ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED BUT SOME PARTS OF THE E PUGET SOUND
LOWLANDS...ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE PSCZ...COULD RECEIVE NEAR AN INCH
OF WET SNOW.
ANTICIPATE SHOWERY WEATHER OVER THE CWA ON SATURDAY WITH MUCH OF THE
ACTIVITY OCCURING OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THE MODELS WERE HAVING
DIFFICULTY WITH THE TRACK OF THE SUNDAY SYSTEM...SO CONFIDENCE WAS
NOT HIGH. THEREFORE HAVE WENT WITH NEAR CLIMO POPS FOR SUNDAY UNTIL
THE MODELS HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON THIS SYSTEM.
.LONG TERM...
UNSETTLED WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TO CONTINUE DURING THE
FIRST PART OF THIS PERIOD. BY THE LATTER PART OF THE PERIOD...THE
MEDIUM RANGE SOLUTIONS WERE INDICATING THAT AN UPPER RIDGE MAY MOVE
OVER THE PAC NW...WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT NEXT WED COULD END UP BEING
A DRY DAY.
&&
.AVIATION...A DEEP UPPER LEVEL TROUGH REMAINS OVER THE WEST COAST
WITH THE JET DIVING INTO SOUTHERN CA. ACROSS W WA...THE AIR MASS
REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE BUT THERE IS NOT A LOT OF FORCING. THE
VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILE IS WEAK WITH LIGHT WINDS ALOFT ON THE KUIL
SOUNDING. KATX RADAR SHOWS ISOLD TO SCT LIGHT SHOWERS ACROSS THE
AREA...WHICH SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET. CIGS/VIS WILL REMAIN VFR
BUT MAY SEE PATCHY FOG IN THE SW INTERIOR OVERNIGHT. WEAK HIGH PRES
WILL BUILD INLAND ON THU...WITH VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED. 33
KSEA...VFR CONDITIONS TONIGHT WITH SCT-BKN CU FIELD...ISOLD SHOWERS
DIMINISHING AFTER SUNSET. LIGHT SLY WINDS. 33
NOTE...EFFECTIVE AT 15Z TUESDAY APRIL 6 2010 THE NWS IN SEATTLE WILL
BEGIN 3-HOURLY TAF ISSUANCES FOR KSEA. THE INTERMEDIATE TAF
ISSUANCES AT 03Z...09Z...15Z...AND 21Z WILL BE ISSUED AS AMENDMENTS
TO THE TAFS ISSUED AT 00Z...06Z...12Z...AND 18Z. THE INTERMEDIATE
TAFS WILL BE ISSUED DURING A 20-MINUTE WINDOW BETWEEN 50 MINUTES
AFTER THE HOUR AND 10 MINUTES AFTER THE HOUR.
&&
.MARINE...LIGHT WINDS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS WESTERN WA TONIGHT AS HIGH
PRES OFFSHORE SHIFTS INLAND. SEAS ARE STILL OVER 10 FT SO WILL
CONTINUE THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS BOTH COASTAL
WATERS AND WEST ENTRANCE JUAN DE FUCA ZONES.
A STRONG FRONT WILL APPROACH W WA THU NIGHT AND MOVE INLAND FRI
MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON. GALE WATCHES HAVE BEEN POSTED...AND MAY
SEE BRIEF STORM FORCE WINDS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. STRONG ONSHORE
FLOW WILL DEVELOP FRI AFTERNOON AS THIS SYSTEM PUSHES FARTHER
INLAND...WITH GALES POSSIBLE INTO FRI NIGHT.
STRONG ONSHORE FLOW WILL PERSIST INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE
WEEKEND...WITH OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOPING EARLY NEXT WEEK. 33
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE OLYMPICS AND CASCADES
FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.
A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST AND NORTH INTERIOR
FOR FRI.
PZ...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IS IN EFFECT FOR THE
COASTAL WATERS AND WEST ENTRANCE TO THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA
TIL 6 PM THU.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR ROUGH BAR GRAYS HARBOR BAR
CONDITIONS TIL 6 PM THU.
A GALE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL WATERS AND WEST
ENTRANCE TO THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA THU EVENING THROUGH
FRI AFTERNOON.
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE
FOR AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THE FORECAST DISCUSSION PLEASE SEE
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML (ALL LOWERCASE).1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
A skier was injured when an avalanche he created slammed him into a tree.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 2010
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: 223928.