Avalanche in Matanuska Valley, Alaska

Avalanche November 22, 2017 · Matanuska Valley, Alaska

Death

What the National Weather Service wrote

An avalanche in Hatcher Pass took the life of a local ski coach. Strong winds earlier in the week and low snow caused the snowpack to be very unstable.

The wider storm

A 974 mb low moved southward across the Alaska Peninsula and into the Gulf of Alaska. Behind this low, a 1039 high was centered over the Western Aleutians. This caused a strong gradient with northerly flow over the Pribilof Islands, the eastern Aleutians, and the Alaska Peninsula. This storm strengthened in the Gulf of Alaska and moved onshore in the northern Panhandle. As a result, northerly gap winds intensified over the Prince William Sound.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 726780. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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