Name: Damaging Winds in Idaho, July 15, 2002
Start: 2002-07-15T18:50
End: 2002-07-15T19:20
Location: Idaho

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Evening thunderstorms produced outflow winds across Canyon County that brought down tree limbs up to four inches in diameter in Caldwell. A funnel cloud was spotted in Gem County near the Canyon county line.

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 Jul 15, 2:45 PM MST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 2:45 PM MST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

SOUTHWEST IDAHO/SOUTHEAST OREGON AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE IDAHO
345 PM MDT MON JUL 15 2002

AFTERNOON CONVECTION ALREADY IN PLACE OVER SOUTHWEST ID LIFTING
NORTH-NORTHEAST INTO MT. UPPER LEVEL S/WV WEST CENTRAL NV AT 20Z TO
LIFT NORTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHWEST ID AND SUPPLY NEEDED DYNAMICS TO
DEEP MONSOONAL MOISTURE BAND MAINLY OVER SOUTHWEST ID ZONES.
SOUTHEAST ORE ZONES DRIER THAN SUN AND DIURNAL CONVECTION THOSE
AREAS LESS THAN SOUTHWEST ID. AS OF 21Z STORM SPOTTER CALLS AROUND
SOUTHWEST ID ONLY SHOWING SOME LIGHT RAIN/SMALL HAIL/LITTLE WIND
WITH THESE PASSING CELLS. STRONG HIGH PRESSURE CELL AROUND SOUTHERN
UT WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT MONSOONAL MOISTURE NORTH THROUGH EASTERN
NV/UT INTO EASTERN HALF OF ID TUE/WED FOR HIGHEST POPS EASTERN
ZONES/LOWER POPS SOUTHEAST ORE ZONES. H7 THETA-E RIDGE AXIS LIES
ACROSS CENTRAL MOUNTAINS FOR SLIGHT CHANCE OF DIURNAL CONVECTION
NORTHERN ZONES. TEMPS LITTLE CHANGED FROM TODAY...REMAINING NEAR TO
SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.

IN EXTENDED PERIOD MODELS AGREE TO KEEP L/WV HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE
AXIS OVER NORTH AMERICAN ROCKIES AND SHALLOW L/WV TROUGH IN GULF OF
ALASKA THROUGH FRI/SAT. THIS KEEPS PACIFIC STORM TRACK WELL NORTH OF
CWFA ALONG CANADIAN BORDER WITH LITTLE AFFECT FROM PASSING S/WVS.
WEAK SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER CWFA WILL KEEP DRY CONDITIONS AND
SEASONAL TEMPS IN MOST OF CWFA. MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN JUST
EAST OF CWFA BUT WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED CLOSELY IF IT SHIFTS ONLY
SLIGHTLY WEST INTO SOUTH CENTRAL ID. PARKER

.BOI...NONE.

The radar

The Boise radar (KCBX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Canyon

When: July 15, 6:50 PM MST to 7:10 PM MST
Where: Canyon County, 3 mi W of Middleton
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.700, -116.683

Thunderstorm Wind, Payette

When: July 15, 7:05 PM MST to 7:20 PM MST
Where: Payette County, Fruitland
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.017, -116.917

Funnel Cloud, Gem

When: July 15, 7:05 PM MST to 7:15 PM MST
Where: Gem County, 4 mi SW of Emmett
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.062, -116.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, July 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: 5309834, 5309835, 5309836.