High Wind in Idaho, April 23, 2002

Name: High Wind in Idaho, April 23, 2002
Start: 2002-04-23T07:00
End: 2002-04-23T20:00
Location: Idaho

April 23, 2002 · NWS PIH · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

One week after a heavy snowstorm, the same area in southeastern Idaho was hit by a windstorm. The passage of a strong cold front created the winds on April 23rd.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $4.5 million
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 PIH wrote it up.

One week after a heavy snowstorm, the same area in southeastern Idaho was hit by a windstorm. The passage of a strong cold front created the winds on April 23rd. Sustained winds on the 23rd were between 40 and 50 mph with gusts reaching 60 to 70 mph throughout the afternoon covering the entire Snake River Plain from Minidoka northeast through Pocatello, Craters of the Moon, Blackfoot, Idaho Falls to Rexburg. The winds also did damage in the Upper Snake Highlands as well. 10,000 residents lost power in Blackfoot, Pocatello, and Chubbuck. The winds created poor visibility and blowing dust and closed roads. Interstate 15 was closed from Idaho Falls to Roberts. US Highway 20 was closed from Arco to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. State Highway 26 was closed and Jefferson county closed schools. The wind did extensive damage to homes downing trees and large limbs as well as power lines throughout southeastern Idaho. Damage from the wind storm was estimated at around 4.5 million across the region.

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 Apr 23, 3:45 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 23, 3:45 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO/IDAHO FALLS ID
245 AM MDT TUE APR 23 2002

WV LOOP SHOWS JET AXIS FROM NW MT...ALONG THE WA/OR BORDER AND THEN
EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE WRN CANADIAN COAST.  00Z RAOBS ACROSS THIS
REGION SHOW 40 TO 50 KT AT H7 AND 60 TO 100 KTS AT H5.  MODELS PROG
THIS REGION OF HIGH WINDS ALOFT TO MOVE OVER SE ID LATE THIS MORNING
AND LAST THRU THE EVENING HOURS.  KSFX VWP CURRENTLY SHOWING 30KT AT
1KFT AGL...WINDS WILL QUICKLY INCREASE TO ADV LEVELS AN HOUR OR TWO
AFTER SUNRISE.  WITH LITTLE CLOUD COVER AND GOOD LOW LEVEL MIXING...
STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION AND SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT...SE ID IS IN FOR
A VERY WINDY DAY.  CURRENT HIGH WIND WATCH HIGHLIGHTS 35 TO 45 MPH
WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH...SEE NO REASON TO DISAGREE WITH THAT WORDING SO
WILL GO AHEAD AND UPGRADE TO A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ZONES
17/20/21...LATE THIS MORNING INTO TUESDAY EVENING.  BEYOND TODAYS WIND
EVENT HIGH PRESSURE AND A LIGHT W TO NW FLOW ALOFT SETTLES OVER SE ID
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT TERM.

DAYS 4 TO DAY 7...BEST CHANCE FOR PRECIP LOOKS TO BE SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY AS A SYSTEM DROPS OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA AND INTO THE NW
CONUS ON THE EAST SIDE OF A VERY SHARP LONGWAVE PACIFIC RIDGE.  EXPECT
BELOW NORMAL TEMPS THRU THE EXTENDED WITH THE LOW H5 HEIGHTS.

BRONG

.KSFX...OPERATIONAL...VCP 32.

BYI 55/29/59 000

.PIH...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR IDZ017-020-021...16Z TO 02Z.  PLEASE
REFER TO THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETIN FOR DETAILS.

PIH NU 055/026 057/033 064 15000

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Upper Snake River Plain

When: April 23, 7:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Upper Snake River Plain forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Property damage: $3.0 million
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Eastern Magic Valley

When: April 23, 7:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Eastern Magic Valley forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Lower Snake River Plain

When: April 23, 7:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Lower Snake River Plain forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Upper Snake Highlands

When: April 23, 7:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Upper Snake Highlands forecast zone
Property damage: $1.5 million
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Idaho in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, April 2002

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: 5289683, 5289680, 5289681, 5289682.