Idaho, 2002

Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 12 to 13, 2002

March 12 to 13, 2002 · NWS PIH · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Heavy snow fell in the central mountains and eastern and southern highlands of Idaho with 6 to 12 inches of snow above 6000 feet. The snow was heavy enough along with strong winds causing blowing snow during the day on the 13th to close interstate 84 between Burley and the Utah border.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

Heavy snow fell in the central mountains and eastern and southern highlands of Idaho with 6 to 12 inches of snow above 6000 feet. The snow was heavy enough along with strong winds causing blowing snow during the day on the 13th to close interstate 84 between Burley and the Utah border. Victor near the Wyoming border had 6 inches of snow and although heavy snow was not reported in the valleys, many locations reported 3 to 5 inches including Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, and Pocatello.

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 Mar 12, 9:45 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 9:45 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
SOUTHEAST IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO/IDAHO FALLS ID
945 AM MST TUE MAR 12 2002

H3 JET IN PLACE OVER THE CWFA WITH AMPLE MOISTURE IN THE LOWER
LEVELS.  IR LOOPS SHOWS COLDEST CLOUD TOPS OVER THE SOUTHERN ZONES
AND SLOWLY SAGGING TO THE SOUTH. KCBX BASE VELOCITY DATA SHOWS COLD
FRONT MOVING INTO SW IDAHO.  THIS FRONT EXTENDS NEWRD INTO
WESTERN MT.  REGIONAL RADAR MOSAIC SHOWS RETURNS AHEAD FRONTAL ZONE
MOVING ENE AND PARALLEL TO UPPER JET.  WORDING FOR CNTRL MTN ZONES
IS GOOD WILL BUT WILL UPDATE TO LOWER THE POPS AND DROP THE WARNING
FOR 18 AND 31 AS PRECIP HAS BECOME SHOWERY.  WILL ALSO TWEAK POPS IN
OTHER ZONES.

SHORT TERMS MODELS INDICATE GOOD JET DYNAMICS WITH PRECIP TO REMAIN
OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA WITH ZONE 19 AND 23 UNDER THE GUN
FOR MOST OF THE DAY.  SNOW LEVELS THIS MORNING ARE BETWEEN 5500 AND
6000 FEET AND WILL DROP TO THE VALLEY FLOORS LATE TONIGHT AS COOLER
AIR MOVES OVER SE ID BEHIND THE APPROACHING FRONT.

BRONG

KSFX WSR-88D...OPERATIONAL...VCP 21.

BYI 50/30/40 +43

.PIH...HEAVY SNOW WARNING THROUGH TODAY ZONES 19/23.  SEE LATEST
WINTER STORM BULLETINS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

PIH RJ 048/028 037/021 033 11+43

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Big and Little Wood River Region

When
March 12, 12:00 PM MST to March 13, 4:00 PM MST
Where
Big and Little Wood River Region forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Caribou Highlands

When
March 12, 12:00 PM MST to March 13, 4:00 PM MST
Where
Caribou Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Sawtooth Mountains

When
March 12, 12:00 PM MST to March 13, 4:00 PM MST
Where
Sawtooth Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Upper Snake Highlands

When
March 12, 12:00 PM MST to March 13, 4:00 PM MST
Where
Upper Snake Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, South Central Highlands

When
March 12, 12:00 PM MST to March 13, 4:00 PM MST
Where
South Central Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 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: 5281701, 5281702, 5281703, 5281704, 5281705.