Two separate avalanches killed two people and injured 7 near Snoqualmie Pass.
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.
Two separate avalanches killed two people and injured 7 near Snoqualmie Pass.
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 Apr 13, 8:30 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
930 AM PDT SAT APR 13 2013
.SYNOPSIS...MOIST ONSHORE FLOW WILL ACCOMPANY A COOL UPPER TROUGH...
BRINGING COOL SHOWERY AND BREEZY WEATHER TO WESTERN WASHINGTON THIS
WEEKEND. SNOW WILL FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH THE SNOW LEVEL BELOW
2000 FEET. DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER IS LIKELY EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...FREEZING LEVEL AT KUIL WAS 2400 FEET THIS MORNING
IMPLYING A SNOW LEVEL DOWN TO AROUND 1500 FEET. A REPORT OF SNOW
FROM THE HOH RIVER RANGER STATION...ELEVATION ABOUT 500 FEET...AND
SNOW IN THE DOT CAMERAS IN SKYKOMISH...ELEVATION ABOUT 1000 FEET...
PROVE SNOW IS FALLING TO EVEN LOWER LEVELS IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS.
EXPECT SNOW DOWN TO 1500 FEET OVER THE LOWLANDS THIS MORNING...WHICH
MEANS THE ISSAQUAH ALPS AND SIMILAR HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THERE WILL BE
SOME WARMING IN THE AFTERNOON BUT ALSO SOME CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY
WHICH COULD KEEP A LITTLE SNOW OR HAIL IN THE FORECAST FOR THOSE
ELEVATIONS.
THERE IS A DEEP UPPER TROUGH OVER NORTHEAST WASHINGTON WITH LOW
HEIGHTS OVER THE WHOLE STATE. LIFTED INDICES AND VERY COLD AIR ALOFT
WILL KEEP SHOWERS GOING OVER THE AREA TODAY. ANY SORT OF CONVERGENCE
ZONE THAT GETS GOING WILL ENHANCE SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY BRING
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...AND ALSO BOOST SNOWFALL WHERE THE
CONVERGENCE ZONE EXTENDS INTO THE CASCADES. THE WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE THERE. HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY ARE UNLIKELY
TO GET OUT OF THE 40S. THERE MAY BE SOME AFTERNOON SUN BREAKS BUT
THE CUMULUS FIELD THAT IS MOVING ASHORE WILL BE PRETTY SOLID ONCE
OVER THE LAND. BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE IN MODERATE ONSHORE
SURFACE FLOW.
SUNDAY SHOWS LITTLE CHANGE FROM THE PATTERN ABOVE ASIDE FROM A
LITTLE WARMING. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL RISE 500 FEET OR SO AND HIGH
TEMPERATURES WILL BE AROUND 50. ON MONDAY THE SLOW WARMING TREND
WILL CONTINUE WITH HIGHS MAINLY IN THE LOW TO MID 50S. FLOW ALOFT IS
NORTHERLY SO SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH AS WELL. BURKE
.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL
CONTINUE TUESDAY AS AN UPPER RIDGE MOVES INTO THE OFFSHORE WATERS OF
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THERE IS JUST A CHANCE OF LIGHT SPOTTY
PRECIPITATION IN THE MOUNTAINS... WITH PARTLY SUNNY SKIES FOR MUCH
OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE UPPER RIDGE AXIS WILL LIKELY REMAIN JUST
OFFSHORE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...BUT IT WILL BE FLATTENED AT
TIMES AS WEAK FRONTS MOVE OVER THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIDGE INTO
WESTERN CANADA. THESE FEATURES WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHT
PRECIPITATION TO WESTERN WASHINGTON...BUT THE TIMING OF INDIVIDUAL
SYSTEMS IS UNCERTAIN. MCDONNAL
&&
.HYDROLOGY...RIVER FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 7 DAYS.
&&
.AVIATION...AN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE PAC NW WILL SHIFT EWD TODAY.
ANOTHER TROUGH WILL FORM OVER THE REGION SUNDAY. MODERATE NW FLOW
ALOFT BECOMING LIGHT ON SUNDAY. GENERALLY MOIST AT ALL LEVELS AND
UNSTABLE.
THE PUGET SOUND CONVERGENCE ZONE IS EXPECTED TO BECOME ACTIVE TODAY
BETWEEN KPAE AND KBFI. CEILINGS IN THE CONVERGENCE ZONE 1-2K FT.
OUTSIDE OF THE CONVERGENCE CEILINGS GENERALLY IN THE 3-5K FT RANGE
WITH CIGS LOWERING DOWN TO NEAR 2K FEET IN SHOWERS. SHOWERS WILL
BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF A
THUNDERSTORM WITH SMALL HAIL INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. DTM
KSEA...SLY WINDS 10 TO 15 KNOTS WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 25 KNOTS
CONTINUING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. WINDS EASING TONIGHT.
SHOWERS WITH CIGS 3-4K FT BUT LOWERING TO 1500 TO 2500 FT WITH
SHOWERS. CHANCE OF AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM 20 PERCENT. THE
CONVERGENCE ZONE NEEDS TO BE WATCHED BUT IS NOT EXPECTED TO MAKE IT
FURTHER S THAN KBFI.
&&
.MARINE...ANOTHER STRONG SURFACE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE WATERS
TODAY. THIS WILL MAINTAIN STRONG ONSHORE FLOW CONDITIONS. GALES WILL
CONTINUE AT TIMES IN THE CENTRAL/E STRAIT THROUGH LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. THE COASTAL WATERS WILL ALSO HAVE MARGINAL GALE FORCE
WINDS TODAY. SMALL CRAFT CONDITIONS ELSEWHERE WITH EASING WINDS OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS/STRAIT TONIGHT.
THE ONSHORE FLOW PATTERN WILL WEAKEN TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. HIGH
PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE WATERS ON MONDAY AND REMAIN OVER THE
AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. DTM
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES.
PZ...GALE WARNING COAST AND STRAIT.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ALL OTHER WATERS.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR SEVERE BAR GRAYS HARBOR BAR.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE
FOR THE GRAPHICAL AFD...VISIT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML2 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
An avalanche on Granite mountain, near Snoqualmie Pass, killed one person and injured 2.
An avalanche on Red mountain, near Snoqualmie Pass, killed one person and injured 5.
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, West Slopes Central Cascades and Passes | 2013-04-13 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct | |
| Avalanche, West Slopes Central Cascades and Passes | 2013-04-13 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, April 2013
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: 447854, 447853.