Cold in Washington, March 26, 2016

Name: Cold in Washington, March 26, 2016
Start: 2016-03-26T01:00
End: 2016-03-26T23:00
Location: Washington

March 26, 2016 · NWS SEW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

|They began their climb on Saturday morning, March 26. Private parties at Camp Muir reported overnight gear left there all day when no one returned to use it Saturday night.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 2
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.

He was found where alpinist Monique Richard, 41 of Canada, described last seeing her climbing partner Arvid Lathi, 58 of Norway, in the area of the Gibraltar Ledges route.|They began their climb on Saturday morning, March 26. Private parties at Camp Muir reported overnight gear left there all day when no one returned to use it Saturday night. The park initiated search operations Sunday morning. That afternoon Richard was seen descending from the Gibraltar Ledges route to Camp Muir. Several individuals assisted her to the public shelter at Camp Muir. On Monday she was airlifted to a local hospital. |An unresponsive climber was located in the area of the ledges by air reconnaissance on Monday, March 28. On the climbing team's descent from the summit on Saturday, March 26, they were caught out overnight in a winter storm, causing them to take shelter from extreme wind, blowing snow, and frigid temperatures on the lee side of a ridge. During this time it is believed that Lathi may have succumbed to exposure.

In a separate incident, a 26-year-old man from Lacey was snowshoeing alone over the weekend and was also caught in the storm. He's doing OK but has some frostbite, Wold said. He set off a distress signal from his locater beacon Saturday night. but he managed to reach Camp Muir on his own on Sunday.

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 Mar 25, 7:45 PM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 25, 7:45 PM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
845 PM PDT FRI MAR 25 2016

.SYNOPSIS...AN OCCLUDED FRONT WILL WEAKEN JUST OFFSHORE TONIGHT WITH
CLOUDS SPREADING OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON AFTER MIDNIGHT. AN UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WILL RE-ENERGIZE THE FRONT
ALLOWING RAIN TO MOVE INLAND LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING
SATURDAY NIGHT. A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BRING COOL SHOWERY
WEATHER SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE
WILL DOMINATE TUESDAY THROUGH THE END OF NEXT WEEK WITH MOSTLY SUNNY
AND WARMER WEATHER.

&&

.SHORT TERM...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BE OVER W WA TONIGHT FOR
A SHORT DRY PERIOD. AFTERNOON CUMULUS AND ISOLATED SHOWERS HAVE
DIMINISHED SO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WILL RULE THIS EVENING. SATELLITE
IMAGERY SHOWS A FRONTAL SYSTEM JUST OFFSHORE AND THE LARGE CLOUD
SHIELD IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD INLAND LATER THIS EVENING.

THE FRONTAL SYSTEM JUST OFFSHORE IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN TONIGHT
THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS IT PUSHES INTO THE UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE CURRENTLY OVER THE REGION. THE UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH
DRIVING THE FRONT WILL SHEAR AWAY FROM THE LOWER PORTIONS OF THE
FRONT TONIGHT THEN CROSS W WA EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. HOWEVER THIS
WILL ONLY BE A TEMPORARY SETBACK. ANOTHER STRONGER UPPER LEVEL
SHORTWAVE TROUGH CURRENTLY OFFSHORE NEAR 150W WILL SPEED EASTWARD
THROUGH SATURDAY THEN RE-ENERGIZE THE OLD FRONT STILL HANGING AROUND
JUST OFFSHORE. MODELS AGREE THAT THE RE-ENERGIZED FRONT WILL START
SPREADING RAIN INLAND BY LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON...WITH RAIN
REACHING ALL OF W WA SATURDAY EVENING.

THE GFS SHOWS THE OLD FRONT CROSSING PUGET SOUND AROUND 06Z/11 PM
SATURDAY EVENING. ONSHORE FLOW WILL INCREASE RAPIDLY BEHIND THE
FRONT FOR WIDESPREAD BREEZY CONDITIONS. ANOTHER SMALL FRONT
ASSOCIATED DIRECTLY WITH THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL CROSS THE AREA
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.

A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL SETTLE OVER THE REGION ON SUNDAY.
MODERATE W FLOW ALOFT AROUND THE S SIDE OF THE TROUGH WILL PUSH A
COOL UNSTABLE SHOWERY AIR MASS OVER W WA. SHOWERS WILL BE
WIDESPREAD...AND HIGHS WILL ONLY TOP OUT NEAR 50. GFS LIFTED INDICES
GET DOWN TO -1 SO A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS IS NOT OUT OF
THE QUESTION. SNOW LEVELS WITH THE FRONT SATURDAY NIGHT WILL BE
ABOVE 4500 FEET...BUT WILL FALL TO AROUND 3000 FEET ON SUNDAY WITH
THE TROUGH. OROGRAPHIC EFFECTS FROM THE W FLOW ALOFT COULD PRODUCE
UP TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW IN SPOTS OVER THE CASCADES.

THE LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL SHIFT OVER E WA SUNDAY NIGHT WITH
SOMEWHAT DRIER NNE FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPING OVER W WA. MONDAY LOOKS
LIKE A TRANSITION DAY WITH LEFTOVER SHOWERS DIMINISHING EARLY.
CLOUDS WILL TAKE LONGER TO CLEAR. WITH CLEARING FROM THE NW THE
COAST AND N INTERIOR WILL SEE MORE BLUE SKY DURING THE AFTERNOON.
THE PUGET SOUND REGION AND SW INTERIOR MAY SEE A LITTLE CLEARING
LATER IN THE AFTERNOON. KAM

.LONG TERM...MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT A LARGE HIGH
AMPLITUDE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD OFFSHORE ALONG 140W ON
MONDAY. N-NE FLOW DOWN THE E SIDE OF THE RIDGE WILL BRING THE
CLEARING TREND OVER W WA ON MONDAY. THE RIDGE DOMINATE INTO NEXT
WEEKEND BUT WILL BE MOVING SLOWLY E AND WEAKENING THROUGH THAT
PERIOD. REGARDLESS...THIS WILL PROBABLY BE THE LONGEST SUNNY AND
WARMER STRETCH THAT WE HAVE HAD IN A WHILE. KAM

&&

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

&&

.AVIATION...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BUILD OVER THE PAC
TONIGHT...THEN SHIFT FURTHER INLAND SATURDAY AFTERNOON. AN UPPER
TROUGH WILL REACH THE AREA SATURDAY EVENING ALONG WITH A SURFACE
FRONT THAT WILL PUSH ACROSS WRN WA. LIGHT SLY FLOW ALOFT BECOMING
MODERATE WLY FLOW ALOFT BEHIND THE FRONT SATURDAY EVENING. AIR MASS
STABLE AND SOMEWHAT MOIST...MAINLY IN THE UPPER LEVELS TONIGHT.
MOISTURE INCREASING IN THE MID/UPPER LEVELS ON SATURDAY...BECOMING
MOIST THROUGH ALL LEVELS SATURDAY EVENING AND RAIN INCREASES.
GENERALLY VFR SKIES.

KSEA...INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS TONIGHT...THEN MID/HIGH CLOUDS
SATURDAY. CIGS AROUND 4-5K FT W/ LIGHT RAIN DEVELOPING SATURDAY
EVENING AS A FRONT APPROACHES. LIGHT NW WIND 3-5 KT BECOMING ELY
AFTER MIDNIGHT...THEN SLY 4-8 KT RISING TO 8-12 KT SATURDAY.

&&

.MARINE...HIGH PRES WILL SHIFT INTO THE INTERIOR PAC NW LATER
TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. A FRONT WILL REACH THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS BY
MIDDAY SATURDAY...THEN PUSH THROUGH THE INLAND WATERS SATURDAY
EVENING. WLY SWELL AROUND 10 FEET WILL SUBSIDE TO 7 OR 8 FEET AFTER
MIDNIGHT W/ A SMALL CRAFT FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS THE REST OF THIS
EVENING. SMALL CRAFT SE WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE COASTAL WATERS
SATURDAY...THE SPREAD TO MOST INTERIOR WATERS SATURDAY EVENING WITH
THE FRONT. WLY FLOW OF 20-30 KT WILL DEVELOP POST-FRONTAL THROUGH
THE STRAIT SATURDAY NIGHT. ONSHORE FLOW WILL GRADUALLY EASE
SUNDAY...THEN OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOPS MONDAY THROUGH MID WEEK.

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...NONE.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS COASTAL WATERS UNTIL
     MIDNIGHT PDT.
     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS COASTAL WATERS ON SATURDAY.

&&

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 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties

When: March 26, 1:00 AM PST to 11:00 PM PST
Where: Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper

On the team's descent from the summit on Saturday, March 26, they were caught out overnight in a winter storm, causing them to take shelter from extreme wind, blowing snow, and frigid temperatures on the lee side of a ridge. During this time it is believed that the man may have succumbed to exposure.

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
Cold/Wind Chill, Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties	2016-03-26	58	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries 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, March 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: 623935.