Heavy Snow, Coeur D'Alene Area
- When
- January 22, 6:00 PM PST to January 23, 1:00 AM PST
- Where
- Coeur D'Alene Area forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 47.675, -116.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 22 to 23, 2002
A warm front quickly moved through the Idaho panhandle on the evening of January 22, bringing heavy snow for much of the central panhandle. 3-5".
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
- None recorded
- 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 OTX wrote it up.
A warm front quickly moved through the Idaho panhandle on the evening of January 22, bringing heavy snow for much of the central panhandle. Snowfall totals with this event include: Plummer...10", Potlatch...6", Moscow...6", and Coeur D'Alene...3-5".
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 22, 2:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 2:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON 230 PM PST TUE JAN 22 2002 WEAK TROF TO MOVE DOWN THROUGH OUR CWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE OVER THE AREA TO PRODUCE SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS MAINLY OVER THE NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO MOUNTAINS. SHADOW FROM WEST WINDS OVER THE CASCADES SHOULD LIMIT THE THREAT OF SNOW ON THE LOWER EAST SLOPES AND BASIN. A RIDGE TO PUSH OVER EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO ON WEDNESDAY WITH SOME TEMPORARY BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS EASTERN SECTIONS OF CWA. THE UPSTREAM TROF IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL THEN PUSH SOUTH AND FLATTEN THE RIDGE LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY OPENING THE DOOR TO CONSIDERABLE WARM AIR ADVECTION AND MOISTURE INTO THE CWA. LOWER VALLEY SNOW WILL CHANGE TO OR MIX WITH RAIN IN THE NORTH AND BECOME MOSTLY RAIN IN THE SOUTH ON THURSDAY. CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ETA AND AVN WITH AVN PRODUCING FAR MORE MOISTURE OVER THE CWA LATE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. WILL GO FOR LIKELY POPS EXCEPT SHADOW AREA OF LOWER EAST SLOPES AND BASIN INTO SOUTHEAST CWA WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HEADLINES EXPECTED FOR THIS FORECAST PACKAGE BUT MAY NEED TO CONSIDER FOR MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO FOR LATER PERIODS. KH .EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS DROP A COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED TROUGH INTO THE PAC NW FRIDAY. FRONT PROGRESSES SOUTH AND EAST AS THE TROUGH DIGS INTO THE CWA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. WILL HOLD ONTO SHOWERS THROUGH SUNDAY THEN AS TRANSIENT RIDGE BUILDS OFF THE PAC COAST MONDAY AND INTO TUESDAY FOR DECREASING CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE CASCADE EAST SLOPES AND IN THE BASIN. GDB ...THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRODUCT CONCERNING WARNINGS AND FORECASTS IS VALID ONLY AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE. THE LATEST WARNING AND FORECAST INFORMATION WILL BE FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PRODUCTS... GEG 019/029/026/039/025/034 436676 COE 019/030/027/039/026/033 437776 PUW 020/031/027/040/027/035 446776 LWS 028/036/033/046/038/044 423566 CQV 016/032/027/040/024/035 336776 SPT 017/030/026/039/024/035 446776 WWP 017/029/026/039/025/033 646776 EAT 023/035/027/042/028/034 123444 MWH 024/038/030/044/033/038 223343 .OTX...NONE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Idaho Palouse
- When
- January 22, 6:00 PM PST to January 23, 1:00 AM PST
- Where
- Idaho Palouse forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 47.017, -116.685 (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
- Lightning Strike in Georgia, January 22, 2002
- Dense Fog in Florida, January 22, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, January 22, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 22 to 23, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Utah, January 22, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 22 to 23, 2002
- Extreme Cold in California, January 22 to 25, 2002
- High Wind in California, January 22, 2002
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 22 to 23, 2002
- Dense Fog in California, January 22, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 22, 2002
- Waterspout in Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters, January 22, 2002
More
Every storm in Idaho in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, January 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: 5279153, 5279154.