Flood, Northern Panhandle
- When
- May 17, 8:00 AM MST to May 20, 8:00 AM MST
- Where
- Northern Panhandle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.247, -116.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Idaho, May 17 to 20, 1996
Due to extensive rainfall and warm temperatures, flooding took place at several locations. Damage occured on the Middle Fork of the Weiser river where sandbags were needed to protect a house.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 BOI wrote it up.
Due to extensive rainfall and warm temperatures, flooding took place at several locations. Damage occured on the Middle Fork of the Weiser river where sandbags were needed to protect a house. The Payette river at Emmett rose above flood stage causing a levee near Fruitland to fail. A section of State Route 52 was flooded three miles east of New Plymouth and several homes near Black's Bridge were flooded. Five homes were evacuated. In Southeast Idaho, Henry's Fork river closed the Parker-Salem highway due to high water as well as causing low-land flooding west of Rexburg. The Portneuf River at Pocatello rose above flood stage causing low land flooding along Marsh Creek and between Inkom and Pocatello.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Idaho Palouse
- When
- May 17, 8:00 AM MST to May 20, 8:00 AM MST
- Where
- Idaho Palouse forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 47.017, -116.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Minnesota, May 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in Indiana, May 17, 1996
- Heat in Missouri, May 17 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 17, 1996
- Flood in Ohio, May 17, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in North Dakota, May 17, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in Minnesota, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in Idaho, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in Idaho, May 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Dakota, May 17, 1996
More
Every storm in Idaho in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, May 1996
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: 5553228, 5553229.