Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 7 to 8, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 7 to 8, 2002
Start: 2002-03-07T20:00
End: 2002-03-08T12:00
Location: Idaho

March 7 to 8, 2002 · NWS PIH · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Heavy snow fell in the mountains of southeast Idaho. 6 to 12 inches were reported at SNOTEL sites above 6500 feet.

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 mountains of southeast Idaho. 6 to 12 inches were reported at SNOTEL sites above 6500 feet. Macks Inn, Island Park and Ashton recorded 8 inches and Wayan recorded 6 inches.

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 7, 2:35 PM MST, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 7, 2:35 PM MST, 5 hours 25 minutes before

SOUTHEAST IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO/IDAHO FALLS ID
235 PM MST THU MAR 7 2002

STRONG COLD FRONT CROSSING WESTERN ID WITH SNOW AT BOI AND PLENTY OF
INSTABILITY OVER THE PIH CWA WITH SOME STRONG CELLS FORMING OVER THE
EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY AND POWER COUNTY WHERE STEEP H5/H8 LAPSE RATES
ARE EVIDENT.  AVN SFC PATTERN BEST BUT ON THE WHOLE THE MODELS SIMILAR
IN THE DEPICTION OF THE UPPER-LEVEL FEATURES.  UNLIKE THE PAST FEW
SYSTEMS...THIS ONE HAS A SUBTROPICAL TAP AND SIGNIFICANT LIFT
ASSOCIATED WITH THE H7 FRONT.  H7 UVVS FOR IPR/DGS ARE +15 TO +20
TONIGHT AND EARLY FRI WITH DEEP LAYER RH.  THE SFC FRONT CROSSES THE
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND MAGIC VALLEY ABOUT 00Z THEN FROM A S14-IDA-PIH-
MLD LINE ABOUT 02Z BEFORE CROSSING THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS BY 06Z.  A
TYPE A SPCZ EVENT WILL OCCUR FROM 06Z TO 12Z WITH A FAVORABLE SYNOPTIC
PATTERN.

SO GIVEN THE EXPECTED QPF PATTERN HAVE OPTED TO CONTINUE THE WSW FOR
ZONES 18/31/32 UNTIL 07Z AND ZONES 19/22/23 UNTIL 12Z.  TOTAL SNOW
AMOUNTS WILL RUN 6 TO 12 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 6000 FEET WITH
THE SNOW LEVELS FALLING FROM 6000 FEET TO VALLEY FLOORS.  ZONES 20/21
IN LINE TO GET 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH THE FRONTAL/CONVERGENCE SIGNATURE
...ESPECIALLY FROM RXE TO IDA.  THE SFC LOW DEEPENS TO 994 MB OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL WY BY 12Z FRI WITH SNOW TAPERING OFF FROM WEST TO EAST
ACROSS THE PIH CWA.  THE UPPER LOW AND ADVECTION VORT LOBE WILL PASS
EAST OF THE AREA LATE FRI MORNING/ EARLY AFTERNOON AS A BROAD H3/H5
RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE REGION SO SOME SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS CANNOT BE
RULED OUT.  LOW POPS FOR SAT AND THEN HIGHER POPS ON SUN AS NEXT
PACIFIC SYSTEM SPREADS OVERRUNNING MOISTURE ACROSS EAST ID.
TEMPS...COLD AIR ADVECTION ABOUT 7-10 DEGREES FOR HIGHS/LOWS FOR
FRI/FRI NIGHT THEN MODERATING SOME FOR SAT/SUN.  WINDS...WINDY IN THE
UPPER SNAKE VALLEY TONIGHT WITH BREEZY ELSEWHERE...THEN LOW-LEVEL
GRADS RELAXING BY LATER FRI AFTERNOON.

EXTENDED...SERIES OF FAST-MOVING WAVES MOVE ACROSS EAST ID FOR MON-THU
SO WILL GROUP ALL 4 DAYS AS CHC VALLEY RAIN/SNOW AND MOUNTAIN SNOW.
MRF WARM BIAS AFTER DAY 4 SO WILL UNDERCUT HIGHS ALL ZONES.

TA

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

BYI 23/33/17/40 6321

.PIH...WINTER STORM WARNINGS CONTINUE TONIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY.
PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER STORM BULLETIN FOR DETAILS.

PIH JB 020/029 016/038 025 04732

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Caribou Highlands

When: March 7, 8:00 PM MST to March 8, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Caribou Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Lost River / Pahsimeroi

When: March 7, 8:00 PM MST to March 8, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Lost River / Pahsimeroi forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Sawtooth Mountains

When: March 7, 8:00 PM MST to March 8, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Sawtooth Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, South Central Highlands

When: March 7, 8:00 PM MST to March 8, 12:00 PM MST
Where: South Central Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Upper Snake Highlands

When: March 7, 8:00 PM MST to March 8, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Upper Snake 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

Every storm in Idaho in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5281696, 5281697, 5281698, 5281699, 5281700.