Moisture wrapping around the north side of an upper level low pressure center south of Lewiston brought an unusually late heavy snow to the mountains of the central and northern Idaho panhandle at and above 5000 feet. 4".
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.
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.
The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
Moisture wrapping around the north side of an upper level low pressure center south of Lewiston brought an unusually late heavy snow to the mountains of the central and northern Idaho panhandle at and above 5000 feet. Snowfall amounts with this storm include: Bear Mountain SNOTEL...14", Lost Lake SNOTEL...6", Sunset SNOTEL...6", Mosquito Ridge SNOTEL...6", Lookout SNOTEL...4", and Mica Creek SNOTEL...4".
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 Jun 8, 8:15 AM PST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
915 AM PDT SAT JUN 8 2002
A MID-UPPER LEVEL CUTOFF LOW CONTINUES TO DOMINATE THE WEATHER THIS
WEEKEND OVER THE NRN ROCKIES/INTERMOUNTAIN REGION. THE TWO BIG
QUESTIONS ARE 1) WHERE WILL THE CUTOFF LOW MOVE AND 2) HOW WILL
PRECIP EVOLVE AROUND THE LOW CENTER.
FIRST QUESTION 1: A LOOK AT HEMISPHERIC SCALE WATER VAPOR IMAGERY
SHOWS LITTLE INDICATION OF ANYTHING THAT WOULD MOVE OR BUDGE THE
UPPER LOW FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS. MODELS SHOW A WAVE MOVING THROUGH
THE LONGWAVE TROUGH AROUND 155-160W SHOVING THE WHOLE PATTERN
SLIGHTLY EAST...BUT BELIEVE THE MODELS ARE UNDER-DOING THE STRENGTH
OF THE BUILDING UPPER RIDGE AROUND 140W. MODEL RUNS OVER THE PAST TWO
DAYS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY SLOWING THE EXIT OF OUR CUTOFF LOW...AND
THIS TREND CONTINUES IN THE NEWLY-ARRIVED 12Z RUNS. LIKE THE IDEA OF
THE CUTOFF LOW MEANDERING AROUND NE ORE/CENTRAL ID/WRN MONTANA
THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY MORNING.
NOW QUESTION 2: AS WITH MOST CUTOFFS...TRYING TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION
COULD EASILY PROVE FUTILE. AS THE LOW CENTER WOBBLES SLIGHTLY
SOUTHEAST TODAY...EASTERLY MID-UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL ADVECT A LOT OF
LIFT AND MOISTURE WESTWARD INTO THE FORECAST AREA. BELIEVE THE PRECIP
SHOWN ON RADAR OVER THE ID PANHANDLE WILL SPREAD WESTWARD INTO AT
LEAST THE ERN 1/3RD OF WA THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS CONTINUE TO
HOVER AROUND 5000 FEET WITH THE MONTANA DOT CAMERA ALONG I-90 AT
LOOKOUT PASS SHOWING SNOW AT PASS LEVEL. CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS LOOK GOOD
AND WILL UPDATE ONLY TO INCREASE POPS TODAY AT SEVERAL FORECAST
POINTS. BELIEVE TONIGHT WILL REMAIN GENERALLY SLOPPY. HANER
...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 053/040/063/042/067 87532
COE 050/039/061/041/065 +7532
PUW 052/038/059/040/065 67542
LWS 055/042/059/047/070 65643
CQV 054/038/064/041/070 97543
SPT 049/038/062/039/066 +7543
WWP 047/037/057/038/065 +8643
EAT 062/046/068/048/076 432-0
MWH 063/044/069/048/077 54310
.OTX...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ABOVE 5000 FEET FOR TODAY THROUGH MIDNIGHT
FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND THE NORTH IDAHO
PANHANDLE (WA ZONES 37, 38 AND ID ZONE 1.
...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR HEAVY SNOW TONIGHT AND SUNDAY ABOVE
6000 FEET FOR THE CENTRAL IDAHO PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS (ZONE 4).
...SPS FOR ENTIRE CWA TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR COLD TEMPERATURES.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, June 2002
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: 5301394, 5301395.