Avalanche in Washington, January 24, 2016

Name: Avalanche in Washington, January 24, 2016
Start: 2016-01-24T12:30
End: 2016-01-24T12:30
Location: Washington

January 24, 2016 · NWS SEW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Mark Panthen, 36, of Bellingham, died Sunday afternoon after two avalanches on the north slope of the mountain, next to the Mount Baker Ski Resort. , saying Panthen was injured and needed help.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 1
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.

Mark Panthen, 36, of Bellingham, died Sunday afternoon after two avalanches on the north slope of the mountain, next to the Mount Baker Ski Resort.

A man who was skiing with Panthen called an employee of the resort from a cellphone around 12:45 p.m., saying Panthen was injured and needed help.

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 Jan 24, 9:16 AM PST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 9:16 AM PST, 3 hours 14 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
916 AM PST SUN JAN 24 2016

.SYNOPSIS...A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE OREGON COAST WILL
STAY MOSTLY SOUTH OF THE AREA AS IT MOVES EAST DURING THE DAY
TODAY. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL PREVAIL OVER THE REGION TONIGHT
THROUGH MONDAY FOR DRIER CONDITIONS. EXPECT A WEAKENING LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM TO BRING A THREAT OF PRECIPITATION TO MUCH OF THE
AREA ON TUESDAY.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
ISOLATED SHOWERS LINGERED OVER MAINLY THE INTERIOR AT THIS TIME.
EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO DISSIPATE BY MIDDAY. THE SUN WAS ALSO
SHINING OVER SOME AREAS AT THIS TIME...SO WILL UPDATE THE
FORECAST TO DECREASE THE CLOUD COVER FOR SOME AREAS.

MEANWHILE...AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE REGION WILL WEAKEN
DURING THE DAY...ALLOWING A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PRESENTLY OFF THE
OREGON COAST TO MOVE INLAND LATE TODAY OR EARLY THIS EVENING.
EXPECT THE BEST CHANCE OF PRECIP FROM THIS SYSTEM TO BE OVER THE
SOUTHWEST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA DUE TO THE UPPER LOW TRACKING
MOSTLY SOUTH OF THE AREA.

AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL REBUILD OVER THE REGION TONIGHT AND
REMAIN OVER THE AREA ON MON FOR DRIER CONDITIONS. THE RIDGE AXIS
WILL SHIFT EAST ON TUE...ALLOWING A WEAKENING UPPER LEVEL TROF TO
APPROACH THE AREA. IT NOW LOOKS LIKE THE BEST CHANCE OF PRECIP
WILL BE OVER THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE FAR
SOUTHEAST WILL PROBABLY STAY DRY DURING MUCH OF THE DAY.

.LONG TERM FROM THE PREV DISCUSSION...
AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE INLAND WEST ON WEDNESDAY WHILE
A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEM APPROACHES THE COAST AND NEARLY
STALLS. THE FRONT COMING IN WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY WILL BE
CHARGED WITH SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE FROM NW OF HAWAII...AND THE
MOISTURE WILL BE TRANSPORTED QUICKLY INTO THE AREA BY A 50-65 KNOT
850 MB SWLY WIND. SOME MODELS CONTINUED TO SHOW WHAT LOOKS LIKE A
24-36 HOUR ATMOSPHERIC RIVER EVENT THAT RESULTS IN 5-7 INCHES OF
RAIN IN THE OLYMPICS AND 3-5 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE NORTH CASCADES
WITH SNOW LEVELS OVER 8000 FEET. IT WILL BE QUITE MILD FOR LATE
JANUARY WITH LOWS THURSDAY MORNING ONLY AROUND 50...AND HIGHS
WELL INTO THE 50S ON THU.

A FEW MODEL RUNS LIKE THE 06Z GFS SHOW A STRENGTHENING LOW MOVING
ONTO THE NORTH COAST FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME HIGH WINDS MAINLY
ON THE COAST AND IN THE NORTH INTERIOR. THE FRONT FINALLY MOVES
EAST AND OUT OF THE AREA ON FRIDAY LEAVING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
LOWER SNOW LEVELS. ALBRECHT

&&

.AVIATION...THERE IS SOME SUNSHINE OVER PARTS OF WRN WA THIS
MORNING. THE CLOUDIEST AREA IS WHERE THE PSCZ WAS GOING OVERNIGHT.
AFTER A LITTLE SUN CLOUDS WILL INCREASE AS THE NORTH PORTION OF
A FRONT MOVING INTO OREGON CLIPS WRN WA THROUGH THIS EVENING...
THE SYSTEM MAY GIVE A LITTLE LIGHT RAIN TO MAINLY THE SW PORTION
OF WRN WA AS IT BREAKS UP OVER THE AREA TONIGHT.

KSEA...THE AIR WILL DRY AS OFFSHORE FLOW INCREASES THROUGH
MONDAY. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE TODAY AND MONDAY.

&&

.MARINE...A FRONT IS MOVING INTO OREGON AND WILL JUST CLIP WRN WA
LATER TODAY. OFFSHORE FLOW INCREASES THROUGH MONDAY. A WARM FRONT
WILL CLIP THE COASTAL WATERS TUESDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL WEAKEN AS IT
MOVES INLAND TUESDAY NIGHT. A STRONGER FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL IMPACT
THE AREA WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH GALES LIKELY FOR THE COASTAL
WATERS. HEAVY SURF SHOULD REACH THE COAST THURSDAY AS SEAS OUT OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS BUILD TO 20 FT.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR FLOODING ON A FEW RIVERS DRAINING OFF
THE OLYMPICS AND NORTH CASCADES ABOUT MIDWEEK. THE MOST LIKELY
CANDIDATE WILL BE THE SKOKOMISH RIVER. THERE CONTINUED TO BE SOME
DIFFERENCES IN THE MODELS CONCERNING THE DETAILS BUT IT STILL
APPEARED THAT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER
SETTING UP OVER THE CWA DURING THE WED/THU TIME FRAME.

BEYOND THU...SNOW LEVELS ARE ANTICIPATED TO FALL INTO THE 1500 TO
2500 FOOT RANGE AT THE END OF THE PERIOD. THIS WOULD DIMINISH THE
THREAT OF ANY NEW RIVER FLOODING.

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...NONE.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM MONDAY FOR THE
	 COASTAL WATERS.

&&

WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE

AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THIS FORECAST DISCUSSION CAN BE SEEN AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML

Event by event

1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Avalanche, Cascades of Whatcom and Skagit Counties

When: January 24, 12:30 PM PST
Where: Cascades of Whatcom and Skagit Counties forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper

Mark Panthen, 36, of Bellingham, died Sunday afternoon after two avalanches on the north slope of the mountain, next to the Mount Baker Ski Resort.|A man who was skiing with Panthen called an employee of the resort from a cellphone around 12:45 p.m., saying Panthen was injured and needed help.|There were two avalanches within 15 minutes. The avalanches were at 4,200 feet.|Using a helicopter, emergency responders confirmed Panthen died around 2:20 p.m., authorities said. They provided aid to the other skier, who suffered a head injury.

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 Whatcom and Skagit Counties	2016-01-24	36	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: 608906.