A backcountry skier was injured by a two-foot deep, 40-foot wide soft slab avalanche that carried him about 400 feet down the Shady Lady slope of Cardiac Ridge in Granite Canyon. The slide occurred around 1020MST.
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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 RIW wrote it up.
A backcountry skier was injured by a two-foot deep, 40-foot wide soft slab avalanche that carried him about 400 feet down the Shady Lady slope of Cardiac Ridge in Granite Canyon. The slide occurred around 1020MST. National Park Service rangers along with rescuers from Teton County Search and Rescue and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort provided emergency care and transport for the injured skier.
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 Riverton, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 15, 7:56 AM MST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 856 AM MDT TUE MAR 15 2011 SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT UPDATED TO ADD A HIGH WIND WATCH TO ZONES 2 AND 3 FOR TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. APPROACHING RIGHT FRONT QUAD OF 130KT JET COULD PROVIDE STRONG RIGHT FRONT QUAD SINKING MOTION AND GAP FLOW MAY ALSO BE A SIGNIFICANT PLAYER. CROSS SECTION DOES NOT SHOW ANY WAVE BREAKING ON THE LCL WRF BUT IT DOES SHOW 60KT MAKING IT DOWN TO 825MB AND 45KTS AT THE LOWEST GATE BY 06Z THIS EVENING. ALL AREAS WILL BE WINDY TO VERY WINDY WITH THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL FOR HIGH OR DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE AT THE MOUTH OF ALL EAST-WEST CANYONS AND AROUND CLARK. THIS WATCH MAY VERY WELL BE UPGRADED TO A WARNING WITH THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE. A SHORT LIVED RIDGE WILL BUILD IN OVER THE AREA THIS MORNING. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR MILD...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE SNOW FREE BASINS AND VALLEYS ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM IS PUSHING A COLD FRONT ASHORE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. HIGH CLOUDS PRECEDING THIS NEXT STORM SYSTEM WILL BE MOVING INTO WESTERN WYOMING THIS MORNING. THE MAIN UPPER LOW SITS OFF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST...STEERING THE JET SOUTHWARD WHICH WILL PUMP PACIFIC MOISTURE INTO THE AREA WEST SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW. THIS MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO REACH WESTERN WYOMING THIS EVENING. SNOW AND WIND WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT WITH 6 TO 12 INCHES LIKELY IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS WITH SOME LOCALLY FAVORED AREAS SEEING UP TO 15 INCHES BY THE END OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY. LOWER ELEVATIONS WILL SEE LESS WITH SOME AREAS STARTING AS RAIN BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO SNOW OVERNIGHT. STRONG WIND WILL DEVELOP WITH THIS SYSTEM AS WELL. H7 WIND OF 50 KT WILL BRING STRONG WIND TO THE WIND RIVER AND ABSAROKA RANGES AS WELL AS THE WIND CORRIDOR. SOME UPPER DIFLUENCE AND A RELATIVELY WEAK SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE COMPETING WITH THE H7 WIND AND MARGINALLY FAVORABLE JET DYNAMICS SO AM NOT CONFIDENT IN PREDICTING HIGH WIND ATTM. AS THE MAIN TROUGH DEEPENS IN THE WEST WEDNESDAY...PRECIPITATION WILL SPILL OVER EAST OF THE DIVIDE...PARTICULARLY ACROSS SOUTHERN WYOMING. TEMPERATURES SHOULD STILL BE WARM ENOUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THAT PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE SOUTH SHOULD BEGIN AS RAIN. THE MAIN COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING WITH H7 TEMPS OF -8 TO -10C. THIS WILL BRING TEMPERATURES BACK DOWN NEAR NORMAL IN THE CENTRAL BASINS. THE WEST AND SOUTH WILL BECOME COOLER THAN NORMAL FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. THE PROGRESSIVE PATTERN CONTINUES AS THE NEXT SHORTWAVE RIDGE BUILDS IN THURSDAY NIGHT. LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A TRANSITORY RIDGE IS EXPECTED OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES FRIDAY...WHICH WILL RESULT IN MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS WITH PERHAPS SOME LIGHT SNOWFALL ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS. THE FLOW WILL THEN QUICKLY BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST FRIDAY NIGHT...IN RESPONSE TO AN UPPER LOW/TROUGH PUSHING INTO THE WEST COAST...WITH THE UPPER LOW CENTERED OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. GLOBAL MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE UPPER LOW REMAINING OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR MUCH OF THE WEEKEND...WITH RELATIVELY WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGHS PUSHING NORTHEAST ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ROCKIES SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THESE FEATURES SATURDAY/SUNDAY WILL BE WEST OF THE DIVIDE...AND AMOUNTS SHOULD BE LIGHT...WITH THE PRECIP TYPE MAINLY IN THE FORM OF SNOW. THE BEST SHOT AT PRECIPITATION APPEARS TO BE SATURDAY NIGHT/EARLY SUNDAY...AS THE PACIFIC COLD FRONT AND BAROCLINIC ZONE PUSHES ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. THE MEAN TROUGH AXIS IS THEN EXPECTED TO PUSH EAST ACROSS THE ROCKIES INTO THE PLAINS MONDAY AND TUESDAY...BUT THE BEST DYNAMICS AND PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN SOUTH AND EAST OF THE AREA. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO GENERALLY BE SEASONAL TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE FOR MOST OF THE EXTENDED. AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR TODAY THROUGH 00Z. IN WESTERN WY CLOUDS WILL INCREASE DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS BY 21Z. CLOUDS WILL LOWER BY 00Z IN WESTERN WY WITH AN INCREASED CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS. AFTER 00Z MVFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL IN FAR WEST WY INCLUDING THE JACKSON AIRPORT WITH AN INCREASING COVERAGE OF SNOW. AREAS OF IFR WILL OCCUR IN THE FAR WEST BY 06Z. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR AROUND THE CASPER AIRPORT AFTER 18Z AND CONTINUE THROUGH 06Z. FIRE WEATHER... DRY CONDITIONS WITH INCREASING CLOUDS CAN BE EXPECTED THIS MORNING WITH SNOW DEVELOPING IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON. STRONG WIND WILL DEVELOP ALONG RIDGETOPS AND IN THE CENTRAL WIND CORRIDOR TONIGHT AS THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES MOVES INTO THE AREA. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WATCH FROM 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING WYZ002-003. && UPDATE...SKRBAC SHORT TERM...BERC LONG TERM...WM AVIATION...WM FIRE WEATHER...BERC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 914 AM MDT TUE MAR 15 2011 WYZ001>020-022>030-161200- ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS-BIGHORN MOUNTAINS SOUTHEAST- BIGHORN MOUNTAINS WEST-CASPER MOUNTAIN-CODY FOOTHILLS- EAST SWEETWATER COUNTY-FLAMING GORGE- GREEN MOUNTAINS AND RATTLESNAKE RANGE-JACKSON HOLE-LANDER FOOTHILLS- NATRONA COUNTY LOWER ELEVATIONS-NORTH BIG HORN BASIN- NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY-OWL CREEK AND BRIDGER MOUNTAINS- ROCK SPRINGS AND GREEN RIVER-SALT RIVER AND WYOMING RANGES- SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST BIG HORN BASIN- SOUTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY-SOUTHWEST BIG HORN BASIN-STAR VALLEY- TETON AND GROS VENTRE MOUNTAINS-UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN- UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN FOOTHILLS-UPPER WIND RIVER BASIN- WIND RIVER BASIN-WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS EAST-WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS WEST- YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK- 914 AM MDT TUE MAR 15 2011 ...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE CODY FOOTHILLS AND ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT WILL BEGIN TONIGHT ACROSS WESTERN WYOMING. STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE ABSAROKA AND WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS...CODY FOOTHILLS...AS WELL AS AREAS FROM SOUTH PASS TO CASPER TONIGHT. WINDS COULD GUST OVER 60 MPH IN THE CODY FOOTHILLS WITH GUSTS OVER 80 MPH POSSIBLE ALONG THE EAST SLOPE OF THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SIGNIFICANT SNOW IS LIKELY THROUGH THE DAY WEDNESDAY IN THE WEST...WITH 6 TO 12 INCHES POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND 3 TO 6 INCHES IN STAR VALLEY...JACKSON HOLE...AND THE UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN FOOTHILLS. IN ADDITION...STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE WEDNESDAY OVER THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE ABSAROKA AND WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS... CODY FOOTHILLS...AS WELL AS AREAS FROM SOUTH PASS TO CASPER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL TOTALS. TEAM RIVERTON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 723 AM MDT TUE MAR 15 2011 WYZ020-151700- NATRONA COUNTY LOWER ELEVATIONS- 723 AM MDT TUE MAR 15 2011 LOCAL AREAS OF DENSE FOG HAVE DEVELOPED ALONG I-25 AND US-20 THIS MORNING AROUND CASPER. VISIBILITY MAY BE NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. THE FOG IS EXPECTED TO LIFT BY 11 AM. 19
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, March 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: 278395.