Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 13 to 14, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 13 to 14, 2001
Start: 2001-12-13T15:00
End: 2001-12-14T08:00
Location: Idaho

December 13 to 14, 2001 · NWS BOI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

A strong Pacific storm generated bands of heavy snow across the West Central and Boise Mountains. Between 8 and 20 inches of snow brought down trees that took out two transmission lines, cutting off power for several hours to over 12,000 customers in Valley and Boise Counties. Highway 21, between Boise and Stanley, was closed due to avalanche danger. The Owyhee Mountains received between 6 and 17 inches of snow. The Camas Prairie received 14 to 16 inches of snow.

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 Boise, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 13, 9:05 AM MST, 5 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 13, 9:05 AM MST, 5 hours 55 minutes before

SOUTHWEST IDAHO/SOUTHEAST OREGON AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE IDAHO
905 AM MST THU DEC 13 2001

OTHER FORECASTER WORKING ON UPDATES FOR SNOW MOVING INTO THE MAGIC
VALLEY.  WILL ALSO MAKE SOME MINOR CHANGES TO OTHER ZONES.  ALSO MAY
CANCEL THE SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE LOWER TREASURE VALLEY ZONE AS SNOW
HAS DECREASE TO SCATTERED SHOWERS THIS MORNING BIT WILL LEAVE IT GO
FOR NOW.  OTHERWISE WARM FRONTAL OVERRUNNING IS MOVING OVER THE
FORECAST AREA AT THIS TIME AS SNOW CONTINUES TO FALL OVER THE UPPER
TREASURE VALLEY AND INTO THE BOISE MOUNTAINS AND THE WEST CENTRAL
MOUNTAINS AND IS MOVING INTO THE MAGIC VALLEY.  MAIN CONCERN AT
THIS TIME IS THE CLEARING ON SATELLITE AND RADAR THAT IS NOW OVER
EASTER OREGON AND LOOKS TO BE MOVING TO THE EAST.  ALSO OTHER
CONCERN WILL BE HOW QUICKLY THE SNOW WILL CHANGE TO RAIN IN THE
LOWER VALLEYS.  CURRENT ZONES HAVE THE CHANGE OCCURRING LATER THIS
MORNING SO WILL KEEP AN EYE ON THIS AND MAY NEED TO UPDATED AGAIN
LATTER IF THE CHANGE DOES NOT OCCUR.  COLD FRONT WITH THIS SYSTEM TO
MOVE INTO WESTERN ZONES TONIGHT BUT LOOKING AT WATER VAPOR GOOD
MOISTURE FETCH AHEAD OF THIS FRONT.  SNOW TO CONTINUE TONIGHT SO
HEAVY SNOW WARNING STILL LOOKS IN GOOD SHAPE.  ALLEN

.BOI...HEAVY SNOW WARNING TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING BAKER COUNTY
         ABOVE 4000 FEET.
       HEAVY SNOW WARNING THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH NOON FRIDAY NRN
         MOUNTAIN ZONES...11 AND 13
       HEAVY SNOW WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH NOON FRIDAY IN THE CAMAS
         PRAIRIE...ZONE 28
       SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING OWYHEE MOUNTAINS
         IDAHO ZONE 29
       SNOW ADVISORY THIS MORNING LOWER TREASURE VALLEY...IDAHO ZONE
         12 AND OREGON ZONE 64

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 13, 9:00 AM MST, 6 hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
900 AM MST THU DEC 13 2001

TIME(MST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0800 AM    PAYETTE                   ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   PAYETTE                        2.5 INCHES OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

0800 AM    ONTARIO                   OR   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   MALHEUR                        2 INCHES OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

0730 AM    CASCADE                   ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   VALLEY                         1.5 INCES OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM    EMMETT                    ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   GEM                            1 INCH OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY CO-OP OBSERVER

0700 AM    MCCALL                    ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   VALLEY                         2.1 INCHES OF NEW SNOW
                                          WITH A TOTAL SNOW DEPTH OF
                                          20 INCHES REPORTED BY CO-OP
                                          OBSERVER

0700 AM    OWYHEE DAM                OR   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   MALHEUR                        0.5 INCH OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY CO-OP OBSERVER

0800 AM    BOISE AIRPORT             ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   ADA                            0.8 INCHES OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY THE NATIONAL
                                          WEATHER SERVICE

0800 AM    IDAHO CITY                ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   BOISE                          3 INCHES OF NEW SNOW WITH
                                          A TOTAL SNOW DEPTH OF 24
                                          INCHES REPORTED BY CO-OP
                                          OBSERVER

0830 AM    KEATING                   OR   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   BAKER                          8-10 INCHES OF NEW SNOW
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER

0900 AM    COUNCIL                   ID   HEAVY SNOWFALL
12/13/01   ADAMS                          1.5 TO 2 INCHES OF NEW
                                          SNOW ACROSS THE COUNTY
                                          REPORTED BY ADAMS COUNTY
                                          SHERIFF OFFICE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, West Central Mountains

When: December 13, 3:00 PM MST to December 14, 8:00 AM MST
Where: West Central Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.543, -116.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Boise Mountains

When: December 13, 3:00 PM MST to December 14, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Boise Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.602, -115.335 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Camas Prairie

When: December 13, 3:00 PM MST to December 14, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Camas Prairie forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.409, -115.137 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Owyhee Mountains

When: December 13, 3:00 PM MST to December 14, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Owyhee Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 42.582, -116.170 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Idaho in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, December 2001

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: 5276206, 5276207, 5276208, 5276209.