Flash Flood in Idaho, July 19, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Idaho, July 19, 2002
Start: 2002-07-19T14:00
End: 2002-07-19T14:30
Location: Idaho

July 19, 2002 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Forest Service reported flash flood on Kitchen Creek. The creek backed up with mud and debris with water level rising to 10 feet,which flooded Salmon River Road.

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.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 MSO wrote it up.

Forest Service reported flash flood on Kitchen Creek. The creek backed up with mud and debris with water level rising to 10 feet,which flooded Salmon River Road.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 19, 1:30 PM MST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 1:30 PM MST, 30 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
230 PM MDT FRI JUL 19 2002

.SHORT TERM...WELL DEVELOPED CIRCULATION MOVING INTO SOUTHERN IDAHO
IS ALREADY PRODUCING SOME THUNDERSTORMS IN EXTREME SOUTHERN
PORTIONS OF CWA.  THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AS THE LOWER LEVELS ARE QUITE MOIST AND THEY ARE
MOVING FAIRLY SLOW. AS THE WAVE MOVES NORTH IT WILL BE MORE
INFLUENCED BY THE WESTERLIES INVADING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS
WILL TEND PUSH THE SHOWER ACTIVITY EAST AS IT MOVES INTO OUR SOUTHERN
ZONES.  THIS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT...WITH JUST A FEW LINGERING
SHOWERS OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA SATURDAY. OTHERWISE...THE WEST TO
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL USHER IN DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR FOR THE
WEEKEND.  AVN EXPECTS A WEAK WAVE TO BRUSH THE NORTHERN ZONES
MONDAY...BUT IT APPEARS QUITE DRY.  THIS COULD BRING A
QUICK SHOT OF COOLER AIR TO THE CWA...BUT AT THIS TIME...THE CURRENT
MODELS REBOUND TEMPERATURES QUICKLY AS THE FEATURE EXITS MONDAY
AFTERNOON.  EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO HOVER WITHIN A FEW DEGREES OF
NORMAL THROUGH THE SHORT TERM.             WHITMORE

.LONG TERM...ZONAL FLOW OVER THE CWA ON TUESDAY WITH A WEAK
DISTURBANCE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA...WILL HOLD ON TO A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS. LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY A TROUGH CROSSES THE
AREA...WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES AND A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
BY FRIDAY THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS REBUILDING TO THE WEST FOR DRYING
AND WARMER...BUT WILL HOLD ON TO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TEMPERATURES REMAIN SEASONAL THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. KOLATA

.MSO...NONE.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB UUB 051/087 049/087 051/088 34000000
     BBBB 053/086 054/086 052/086 052/086 390012231
FCA UUB 052/082 047/082 049/083 34100000
     BBBB 049/081 050/081 049/081 049/081 390023231
POL UUB 059/082 053/082 055/083 34100000
     BBBB 056/083 057/083 055/083 055/082 390033232
MSO UUB 054/084 050/084 052/086 34300000
     BBBB 053/086 054/085 052/085 052/083 390023232
HMM UUB 055/083 049/083 051/085 34400000
     BBBB 051/086 053/085 050/085 050/083 390003231
BTM BUB 052/078 046/078 048/081 34400000
     BBBB 048/081 049/080 047/080 047/073 390023232
ORO UUU 060/088 058/088 060/091 34100000
     BBBB 063/090 064/091 061/091 061/097 390000011
GRV UUU 054/083 051/083 053/086 34200000
     BBBB 056/085 057/086 054/086 054/089 390000011
SMN BUU 055/082 050/082 052/085 34400000
     BBBB 053/087 054/087 052/087 052/085 390000231

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Idaho

When: July 19, 2:00 PM MST to 2:30 PM MST
Where: Idaho County, 12 mi SE of Dixie
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 45.844, -115.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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, 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: 5309128.