Avalanche in Washington, January 1, 2016

Name: Avalanche in Washington, January 1, 2016
Start: 2016-01-01T03:00
End: 2016-01-01T03:00
Location: Washington

January 1, 2016 · NWS SEW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A hiker, 65 year old Doug Walker, was found dead near Granite Mtn in the Snoqualmie Pass area. He was killed by avalanche.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.

A hiker, 65 year old Doug Walker, was found dead near Granite Mtn in the Snoqualmie Pass area. He was killed by avalanche.

What forecasters said that day

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 Dec 31, 8:30 PM PST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 8:30 PM PST, 6 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
830 PM PST THU DEC 31 2015

.SYNOPSIS...A QUIET...DRY...AND COOL WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE
OVER THE REGION THROUGH SATURDAY. A WARMER AIR MASS WITH MORE
MOISTURE WILL ARRIVE SUNDAY AND MONDAY AND THE CHANCE OF RAIN WILL
INCREASE NEXT WEEK.

&&

.SHORT TERM...NO CHANGES TO THE FORECAST. HIGH PRESSURE WILL STAY
OVER THE AREA WITH OFFSHORE PRESSURE GRADIENTS BRINGING BREEZY TO
WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS AT TIMES. PATCHY
FOG AND FREEZING FOG WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH PUGET SOUND AREA
TONIGHT AND LINGER FRIDAY MORNING. MORE FOG IS LIKELY SATURDAY
MORNING. THE AIR HAS NOT YET BECOME STAGNANT BUT WILL HANG ONTO THE
AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY A BIT LONGER. BURKE

.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...THE MODELS HAVE DIFFERENCES IN
OPINION ON THINGS LIKE TIMING AND LOCATION OF RAIN FROM APPROACHING
SYSTEMS. THE TREND THOUGH IS TOWARD A SPLITTING FLOW WITH THE
SOUTHERN STREAM LOOKING TO GET ACTIVE BY MID WEEK. THIS WILL MEAN
RAIN CHANCES BUT IT IS HARD TO PIN DETAILS DOWN AT THIS POINT GIVEN
THE UNCERTAINTY AND THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THE MODELS ARE STRUGGLING
WITH DEVELOPING A SPLIT FLOW PATTERN.

&&

.AVIATION...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA TONIGHT
AND FRIDAY WITH EASTERLY FLOW ALOFT AND LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE FLOW. THE
AIR MASS IS DRY AND STABLE. PATCHY FOG OR FREEZING FOG IS POSSIBLE
OVER THE SOUTH SOUND FRIDAY MORNING BUT IT SHOULD BE PRETTY LIMITED.

KSEA...CLEAR SKIES. EASTERLY WIND 5-10 KNOTS. SCHNEIDER

&&

.MARINE...OFFSHORE FLOW WILL PREVAIL THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY EASTERLY WINDS FOR THE COASTAL WATERS AND
STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AT TIMES. A FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL REACH THE
AREA TUE OR WED. SCHNEIDER

&&

.HYDROLOGY...RIVER FLOODING IS UNLIKELY THE NEXT 7 DAYS.

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...AIR STAGNATION ADVISORY FROM 5 AM FRIDAY TO 10 AM PST MONDAY FOR
     ADMIRALTY INLET AREA-BELLEVUE AND VICINITY-BREMERTON AND
     VICINITY-EASTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-EVERETT AND
     VICINITY-HOOD CANAL AREA-LOWER CHEHALIS VALLEY AREA-SAN
     JUAN COUNTY-SEATTLE AND VICINITY-SOUTHWEST INTERIOR-TACOMA
     AREA-WESTERN SKAGIT COUNTY-WESTERN WHATCOM COUNTY.

PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PST FRIDAY FOR CENTRAL U.S.
     WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE
     FLATTERY TO JAMES ISLAND 10 TO 60 NM-COASTAL WATERS FROM
     CAPE FLATTERY TO JAMES ISLAND OUT 10 NM-COASTAL WATERS FROM
     JAMES ISLAND TO POINT GRENVILLE 10 TO 60 NM-COASTAL WATERS
     FROM JAMES ISLAND TO POINT GRENVILLE OUT 10 NM-COASTAL
     WATERS FROM POINT GRENVILLE TO CAPE SHOALWATER 10 TO 60 NM-
     COASTAL WATERS FROM POINT GRENVILLE TO CAPE SHOALWATER OUT
     10 NM-WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA.

&&

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE

YOU CAN SEE AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THIS DISCUSSION AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML

Event by event

1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Avalanche, Cascades of Snohomish and King Counties

When: January 1, 3:00 AM PST
Where: Cascades of Snohomish and King Counties forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper

The 65-year old outdoors-man was found dead Friday morning on Granite Mountain after an all-night search. He had been snowshoeing and hiking with friends Thursday when the wind picked up. His companions decided to turn back and wait for Mr. Walker, who continued climbing a route that friends said he had traversed at least 200 times. He was likely caught in an avalanche, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

The people who died

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, Cascades of Snohomish and King Counties	2016-01-01	65	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Avalanche: A mass of snow sliding down a mountainside that caused a death, an injury or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, January 2016

Sources

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: 608907.