Two skiers were killed in an avalanche just east of the Sierra crest.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 VEF wrote it up.
Two skiers were killed in an avalanche just east of the Sierra crest.
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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 26, 9:40 AM PST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 1040 AM PDT TUE APR 26 2011 .SYNOPSIS...THE AREA WILL EXPERIENCE COOLER TEMPERATURES ALONG WITH SOME GUSTY NORTH WINDS...ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE COLORADO RIVER TODAY. A PROGRESSIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE AREA THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. THE NEXT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTH OF THE AREA ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY BRINGING US THE NEXT ROUND OF GUSTY WINDS. && .UPDATE...OBSERVATIONS ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY SHOWED SUSTAINED NORTH WINDS WERE GENERALLY BETWEEN 15 AND 25 MPH AND GUSTS WERE LESS THAN 35 MPH. THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT FROM ELY TO NEEDLES WAS ONLY AROUND 5 MB AND THE LATEST NAM AND RUC WIND GUIDANCE INDICATE A SLIGHT DECREASING TREND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE WIND ADVISORY WAS CANCELLED FOR THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY. && .AVIATION...FOR MCCARRAN...NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS OF 15-20 KTS WITH GUSTS OF 25-30 KTS THROUGH 21Z THEN BEGINNING TO DECREASE. WIND DIRECTION IS EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE NORTH TO NORTHEAST BY LATE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING. SUSTAINED NORTHEAST WINDS OF 10-12 KTS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. A FEW CLOUDS AOA 25K FEET AT TIMES THROUGH TONIGHT...INCREASING IN COVERAGE ON WEDNESDAY. FOR THE REST OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...NORTHWEST ARIZONA...AND SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA...NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS THIS MORNING TRENDING MORE NORTH-NORTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON AND LASTING INTO TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTH. MOST AREAS WILL HAVE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15-20 KTS WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 KTS BUT LOCALLY STRONGER. A GENERAL DOWNWARD TREND IN WIND SPEED IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON. FEW-SCT CLOUDS AOA 25K FEET TODAY AND TONIGHT WITH INCREASED COVERAGE ON WEDNESDAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION... 325 AM PDT TUE APR 26 2011 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH THE LAS VEGAS VALLEY BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 1 AM. FRONT WILL CONTINUE SOUTH AND SHOULD EXIT SOUTHERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND SOUTHERN MOHAVE COUNTY BY 6 AM. TIGHT SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS WESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY GRADUALLY RELAXING WHICH IS ALLOWING THE WINDS TO SLOWLY SUBSIDE. WIND GUSTS HAVE FALLEN BELOW WARNING CRITERIA IN ZONE CAZ523 SO WILL DOWNGRADE THE AREA TO A WIND ADVISORY THROUGH 5 AM PDT. SO WILL NEED TO DO AN UPDATE IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS. WINDS IN CAZ524 AND CA525 HAVE FALLEN BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA SO WILL GO AHEAD AND CANCEL THE ADVISORY A FEW HOURS EARLY. WILL CONTINUE WITH THE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA...SOUTH ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY TODAY DUE TO STRENGTHENING NORTH WINDS. OTHERWISE...PROGRESSIVE LONGWAVE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE LOWER 48 THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. TROUGH PRESENTLY OVER THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN WILL CONTINUE EAST TODAY WITH FLAT RIDGE OVER THE GREAT BASIN WEDNESDAY. NEXT TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON THURSDAY WHICH MEANS THE RETURN OF GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS. .LONG TERM...THE SYSTEM PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH SOUTHWEST CANADA AND THE PAC NW ON THURSDAY IS STILL EXPECTED TO PUSH EASTWARD ON FRIDAY DRAGGING A COLD FRONT TOWARDS OUR AREA. THERE STILL CONTINUES TO BE DISAGREEMENTS WITH THE MODELS AS TO HOW DEEP OF A SYSTEM THIS ULTIMATELY IS WITH THE ECMWF REMAINING THE DEEPEST...COLDEST AND SLOWEST SOLUTION WHILE THE GEM AND OPERATIONAL GFS ARE NOT AS DEEP...COLD OR SLOW. MOST OF THE 00Z GFS ENSEMBLES CAME IN SLIGHTLY COLDER AND DEEPER THAN THE OPERATIONAL GFS. THUS WE HAVE CONTINUED WITH A FORECAST TILTED TOWARDS THE ECMWF BUT NOT AS COLD AS WHAT IT SHOWS. FOR LATE FRIDAY MORNING INTO FRIDAY EVENING EXPECT GUSTY WINDS ACROSS THE AREA AS THE SYSTEM DIGS SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN. MOST OF THE AREA SHOULD STAY DRY FROM THIS SYSTEM AS IT SWINGS THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY BUT WE MAY SEE A FEW SHOWERS IN LINCOLN COUNTY AND THUS WE KEPT IN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS HERE. HIGH TEMPS SHOULD DROP AT LEAST 10 DEGREES FROM FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY...WITH EVEN COOLER READINGS POSSIBLE IF THE STRONGER ECMWF VERIFIES. IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT 700 MB TEMPS WERE 8 DEGREES COLDER ON THE ECMWF THAN ON THE GFS FOR SATURDAY ACROSS THE AREA. FOR SUNDAY...THE ECMWF DROPS A SECOND PIECE OF ENERGY DOWN THE BACK SIDE OF THE TROUGH...BRINGING A REINFORCING SHOT OF COLDER AIR TO THE AREA. FOR NOW...I KEPT A WARMING TREND IN THE FORECAST FOR SUNDAY BUT HIGHS SHOULD BE AT LEAST A FEW DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL BE LIKELY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ESPECIALLY DOWN THE COLORADO RIVER VALLEY. BY MONDAY AN UPPER TROUGH SLIDES EASTWARD FROM THE PACIFIC BRINGING A WARMING TREND TO THE AREA AND PUSHING HIGHS BACK ABOVE NORMAL. ANOTHER TROUGH IS FORECAST TO PASS BY ACROSS THE PAC NW ON MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY WHICH MAY BRING SOME HIGH CLOUDS TO THE AREA AND INCREASE WINDS A LITTLE. OTHERWISE APRIL WILL LIKELY END ON THE DRY SIDE ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA AND IT APPEARS LAS VEGAS WILL HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF ENDING THE MONTH WITH NO PRECIPITATION AT THE OFFICIAL CLIMATE STATION FOR ONLY THE FIFTH TIME EVER IN APRIL SINCE RECORDS STARTED IN 1937. && .VEF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NV...NONE. AZ...NONE. CA...NONE. && UPDATE...ADAIR AVIATION...SALMEN PREV DISCUSSION...PIERCE/STACHELSKI HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LASVEGAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 1034 AM PDT TUE APR 26 2011 AZZ002-036-CAZ527-NVZ021-270700- LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY-LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA- SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-UPPER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY- 1034 AM PDT TUE APR 26 2011 /1034 AM MST TUE APR 26 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS DUE TO WINDS ARE NO LONGER EXPECTED. SUSTAINED NORTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW 25 MPH THE REST OF THE DAY WITH GUSTS LESS THAN 35 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE WILL BE A SHOT OF STRONG NORTH WINDS FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE OF ANOTHER COLD FRONT. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. AZZ001-003-CAZ519>526-NVZ014>020-022-270700- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-NORTHWEST DESERTS-EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES- OWENS VALLEY-WHITE MOUNTAINS OF INYO COUNTY- DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT- EASTERN MOJAVE DESERT-MORONGO BASIN-CADIZ BASIN- ESMERALDA AND CENTRAL NYE COUNTY-LINCOLN COUNTY- NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY- SHEEP RANGE-SPRING MOUNTAINS-LAS VEGAS VALLEY- SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY- 1034 AM PDT TUE APR 26 2011 /1034 AM MST TUE APR 26 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ARIZONA...SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN NEVADA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO WEATHER HAZARDS ARE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE PASSING BY TO THE NORTH OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BRING A RETURN OF GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS ON THURSDAY. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO A NORTHERLY DIRECTION FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AND REMAIN GUSTY. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED FOR PARTS OF THE REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Two skiers died in an avalanche on the east-facing couloir of Split Mountain, near the Sierra crest southwest of Big Pine.
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, Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County | 2011-04-26 | 38 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Avalanche, Eastern Sierra Slopes of Inyo County | 2011-04-26 | 41 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in California, April 2011
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: 287805.