Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 2 to 3, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 2 to 3, 2001
Start: 2001-12-02T08:00
End: 2001-12-03T10:00
Location: Idaho

December 2 to 3, 2001 · NWS PIH · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 PIH wrote it up.

A second winter storm during the first weekend of December again affected nearly all of southeastern Idaho. Snow amounts from this storm were 9 inches on the benches of Pocatello with 3 to 4 inches in town, 16 inches in Ketchum, 11 inches at Mink Creek, 8 inches at Craters of the Moon, 6 inches at Howe, 10 inches at Soda Springs, 7 inches at Lava Hot Springs. Heavy snow was reported at SNOTEL sites above 6500 feet with 22 inches at Bear Canyon, 18 inches at Lost Divide, 20 inches at Crab Creek, 10 inches at Magic Mountain, 11 inches at Sedgewick Peak, 14 inches at Galena Summit.

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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 2, 3:52 AM MST, 4 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 2, 3:52 AM MST, 4 hours 8 minutes before

SOUTHEAST IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO/IDAHO FALLS ID
255 AM MST SUN DEC 02 2001

MODELS IN CLOSE CONCURRENCE AND HAVE A GOOD INITIALIZATION AND HANDLE
ON NEXT STORM SYSTEM APPROACHING THE SOUTHWEST OR COAST AT THIS TIME.
ETA A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE AVN IN THE WARM WAVING MOVING INTO
SOUTHERN ID SUN AFTERNOON/EVENING BUT BOTH MODELS SHOW EXCELLENT
MOISTURE AND THETA-E ADVECTION ALONG WITH GOOD UPPER JET SUPPORT AND
HEAVY QPF. TWO SHORT WAVES THEN MOVING ACROSS THE DISTRICT TONIGHT AND
MONDAY TO KEEP PCPN GOING. HENCE NO CHOICE BUT TO ISSUE WINTER STORM
WARNINGS FOR ALL MOUNTAIN ZONES MAINLY FOR THIS AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY
MORNING.  ENOUGH WARM AIR ON 02/00Z ANALYSIS TO HAVE PCPN START AS
MAINLY RAIN IN THE ZONES 17 AND 21 THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING BUT THEN
SWITCHING TO SNOW OVERNIGHT WITH LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS AS COOLER AIR
FILTERS IN.  BREEZY CONDITIONS PERSISTING AS GRADIENTS WITH SLACKEN A
BIT THIS MORNING THEN INCREASE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON WITH NEXT STORM.

MEDIUM RANGE MODELS INDICATE ANOTHER PACIFIC SYSTEM FOR TUESDAY AND
THEN AGAIN WED-THURS WITH A DRYING TREND FOR LATE IN THE WEEK AS
RIDGING POPS UP OVER THE PAC NW FRI-SAT. FOR NOW WILL EMPHASIZE SNOW
CHANCES ON WED-THURS AND DEFER TO THE DAY SHIFT TO PERHAPS BREAK OUT
FRIDAY/SATURDAY AS DRYER DAYS.   MOLLNER

BYI 44/31/38 896

KSFX WSR-88D...OPERATIONAL...VCP 21.

PIH WJ 043/031 038/024 034 01796

.PIH...WINTER STORM WARNING ZONES 18/22/31/32 FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON
INTO MONDAY MORNING AND FOR ZONES 19/23 FOR SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY
MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO LATEST WINTER STORM BULLETIN FOR DETAILS.

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Big and Little Wood River Region

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Big and Little Wood River Region forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY

Heavy Snow, Caribou Highlands

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Caribou Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY

Heavy Snow, Lost River / Pahsimeroi

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Lost River / Pahsimeroi forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Lower Snake River Plain

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Lower Snake River Plain forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Sawtooth Mountains

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Sawtooth Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, South Central Highlands

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: South Central Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Upper Snake Highlands

When: December 2, 8:00 AM MST to December 3, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Upper Snake Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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: 5273380, 5273381, 5273382, 5273383, 5273384, 5273385, 5273386.