The Alaska Range was the location in Southcentral Alaska that received the most snow this year. This attracted many outdoor enthusiasts, including motorized sports.
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 AFC wrote it up.
The Alaska Range was the location in Southcentral Alaska that received the most snow this year. This attracted many outdoor enthusiasts, including motorized sports. There were several fatalities, many triggered by motorized snow vehicles (snowmobiles).
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 11, 4:31 AM AKST, 7 hours 39 minutes earlier.
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK 531 AM AKDT MON APR 11 2016 .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... AN EXPANSIVE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED JUST TO THE WEST OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS EXTENDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE BERING SEA TO PORTIONS OF INTERIOR SOUTHWEST ALASKA. AN UPPER LOW REMAINS STACKED ON TOP OF THE SFC LOW...WITH AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CURRENTLY PUSHING THROUGH THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA AND BRINGING A FEW RAIN SHOWERS. SATELLITE IMAGERY OVERNIGHT HAS SHOWN THE LOW OVER THE BERING LOOKING LESS AND LESS IMPRESSIVE...WHICH BACKS UP MODEL DATA THAT THE LOW HAS BEEN STEADILY WEAKENING DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. A DEEP AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED NEAR 50N 155W HAS CONTINUED TO PUSH HARMLESSLY SOUTH OF THE ALASKA PENINSULA OVERNIGHT BUT A FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW HAS BEGUN TO APPROACH SOME COASTAL MARINE ZONES. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A DECENT SHORTWAVE LOCATED NEAR KODIAK ISLAND. THIS SHORTWAVE LOOKS TO PLAY A KEY FACTOR IN INCREASING CLOUDS AND RE-INTRODUCING RAIN SHOWERS TO SOUTHWEST ALASKA THIS AFTERNOON. OVER SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...THE COASTAL RIDGE HAS REMAINED PRETTY STRONG BUT HAS SHOWN SIGNS OF WEAKENING AS THE AFOREMENTIONED LOW IN THE NORTH PACIFIC BEGINS TO REORIENT THE PRESSURE FIELDS. GAP WINDS THROUGH TURNAGAIN ARM...PORTAGE VALLEY...THE COPPER RIVER AND THE KINK RIVER VALLEY HAVE ALL BEEN ON THE DOWNSWING AS PRESSURE GRADIENTS WEAKEN. RAIN SHOWERS HAVE CONTINUED ALONG THE COASTAL RANGE OVERNIGHT AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY AGAIN AS ONSHORE FLOW CONTINUES TO UPSLOPE ALONG THE COASTAL RANGE. && .MODEL DISCUSSION... MODELS REMAIN IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH MUCH OF THE SHORT TERM AND THE MID TERM THIS MORNING. MODELS SURPRISINGLY HANDLE THE TRANSITION OF A NORTH PACIFIC LOW INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA ON TUESDAY WHICH LOOKS TO BRING INCREASED RAIN CHANCES TO PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST BUT OTHERWISE LOOKS PRETTY BENIGN. IN THE MEANTIME...MODELS ARE IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT WITH A SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS THE ALASKA PENINSULA INTO THE BRISTOL BAY ZONE LATE THIS MORNING AND EVENTUALLY OVERSPREADING MUCH OF SOUTHWEST ALASKA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. MODELS ALSO HANDLE THE DISSIPATION OF THE LOW OVER THE NEXT 24-36 HOURS OVER THE BERING SEA WITH A FRONT ENTERING THE WESTERN BERING SEA ON TUESDAY. WITH MODELS BEING IN GOOD AGREEMENT...A BLEND OF NAM AND GEM REGIONAL WAS USED FOR DETAILS DUE TO THEIR HIGHER RESOLUTION. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (DAYS 1 AND 2)... LIGHT MOIST SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW IS SUPPORTING ISOLATED SHOWERS ACROSS PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND AND THE EAST KENAI THIS MORNING. WITH NO SIGNIFICANT UPPER LEVEL FORCING OR MOISTURE SOURCE...SHOWERS WILL REMAIN LIMITED TODAY. A MORE WELL ORGANIZED SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY ENTERING THE SOUTHERN GULF OF ALASKA THIS MORNING AND IS EXPECTED TO BRING STEADY RAIN AND GUSTS TO KODIAK ISLAND TODAY. THE FRONT WILL PROGRESS INTO THE CENTRAL GULF MONDAY EVENING...AND BRING STEADIER SHOWERS AND A WEAK COASTAL JET ALONG THE GULF COAST. HOWEVER...AS THE FRONT WILL REMAIN TO THE SOUTH OF THE GULF COAST...PRESSURE GRADIENTS AND GAP WINDS ACROSS SOUTHCENTRAL WILL REMAIN MINIMAL. BY TUESDAY GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHCENTRAL AS OFFSHORE FLOW OCCURS. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE KODIAK ISLAND WHERE A LOW LINGERING IN THE SOUTHERN GULF WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SHOWERS. && .FIRE WEATHER... THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA (DAYS 1 AND 2)... WEAK CYCLONIC FLOW CENTERED OVER THE BERING SEA WILL STRETCH INTO THE SOUTHWEST MAINLAND TODAY...BRINGING ISOLATED-SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS TO THE REGION. THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE NEARLY AS NUMEROUS OR INTENSE AS THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOPED OVER THIS AREA YESTERDAY EVENING AS THE THE AREA OF COLD AIR ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH THESE STORMS HAS MOVED OFF TO THE NORTH...LIMITING THE DEEP LAYER INSTABILITY FOR TODAY. WEAK RIDGING WILL THEN RETURN THE AREA OVERNIGHT TONIGHT...ALLOWING CLOUDCOVER TO DIMINISH AND CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR PATCHY FOG ALONG THE LOW LYING AREAS TONIGHT. THIS RIDGING WILL THEN PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY AND BRING SUNNY SKIES BACK TO THE REGION WITH ONLY A CHANCE OF DIURNAL MOUNTAIN SHOWERS. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (DAYS 1 AND 2)... CYCLONIC FLOW CENTERED OVER CENTRAL-WESTERN BERING SEA WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE REGION WITH SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS AND LARGELY BELOW SMALL CRAFT. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS WILL BE FOR THE AKPEN TODAY...WHICH WILL BEGIN TO BE INFLUENCED BY AN APPROACHING GALE FORCE FRONT FROM THE SOUTH...BRINGING RAIN AND GUSTY EASTERLY WINDS TO THE AREA INTO TONIGHT. THIS WILL PATTERN WILL GENERALLY CONTINUE UNTIL TUESDAY EVENING WHEN ANOTHER GALE FORCE FRONT BEGINS TO MOVE INTO THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS...BRINGING WET SNOW/RAIN TO THE WESTERN-CENTRAL ALEUTIANS INTO WEDNESDAY. WHILE THERE WILL BE GUSTY EAST WINDS ALONG WITH THIS SNOW...TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE ONLY INTO THE MID 30S...LIMITING ANY BLOWING SNOW CONCERNS TO THE REGION. && .LONG TERM FORECAST (DAYS 3 THROUGH 7)... BEGINNING TUESDAY EVENING...THE REMNANTS OF A GULF OF ALASKA LOW WILL BE SLOWLY MOVING EAST AND WEAKENING...LEAVING WEAK HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHERN ALASKA AND THE EASTERN BERING SEA. SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND ACROSS INLAND LOCATIONS IN THE AFTERNOON AS THE MID APRIL SUN RAMPS UP. OTHERWISE...RATHER DRY AND QUIET WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL LAST INTO THURSDAY BEFORE ANOTHER NORTH PACIFIC LOW SKIRTING THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN MOVES INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA. WITH THE LOW TRACKS REMAINING SOUTH OF THE MAINLAND...THIS WILL KEEP A MOSTLY CROSS-BARRIER COMPONENT TO THE LOW LEVEL WINDS...WHICH MEANS PRECIPITATION WILL BE MOSTLY ALONG THE GULF COAST WITH DRIER INLAND CONDITIONS. THIS WILL ALSO KEEP TEMPERATURES ABOVE AVERAGE AS SPRING CONTINUES TO SURGE FORWARD AT A RAPID PACE. && .AFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...NONE. MARINE...GALE...132 150 177. && SYNOPSIS AND MODEL DISCUSSION...MC SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...ELN SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS...DEK LONG TERM...JA
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
A Snowmachiner got caught in an avalanche near Paxson Monday April 11 around 12:10 PM AKDT. He was found buried beneath 5 to 7 feet of snow.
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, Copper River Basin | 2016-04-11 | 38 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2016
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: 626149.