Heavy Snow in Idaho, May 22, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, May 22, 2002
Start: 2002-05-22T03:00
End: 2002-05-22T21:00
Location: Idaho

May 22, 2002 · NWS OTX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Heavy late-season snow fell on the mountains of the central and northern Idaho panhandle. 4".

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 OTX wrote it up.

Heavy late-season snow fell on the mountains of the central and northern Idaho panhandle. Snowfall totals include: Mica Creek SNOTEL...9", Schweitzer Bowl SNOTEL...9", Bear Mountain SNOTEL...5", Lookout SNOTEL...4", and the Humboldt Gulch SNOTEL...4".

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 2:01 AM PST, 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 2:01 AM PST, 59 minutes before

EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
250 AM PDT WED MAY 22 2002 55

FCST FOCUS WL BE ON PRECIP AND RISING RIVERS THRU THURS.

DEEP CLOSED LOW OVR THE NRN ROCKIES ATTM, WITH MOIST PLUME AND COMMA
HEAD IN NW QUAD OF CYCLONE FOCUSING ON ERN WA AND ESPECIALLY N ID
TODAY AND THIS EVENING. STRONG JET LEVEL DIV, LOW-MID LEVEL WNW
UNSTABLE UPSLOPE FLOW, AND MID LEVEL FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING WL
PRODUCE HEAVY PRECIP OVR N ID AND NE WA, WITH SNOW ABOVE 5000FT MSL
TODAY. SNOW LEVEL EXPECTED TO GO ABOVE 6K FT BY THIS AFTERNOON, SO
THE NE WA MTNS WL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE HEAVY SNOW WARNING ATTM.
ANTICIPATED HI-LITES ON BOTTOM OF AFD. DEEP TROF AXIS TO REMAIN OVR
THE REGION THRU THE FIRST PART OF THURS, AS DEEP CYCLONIC CONVERGENCE
VCNTY THIS TROF KEEPS CLOUDS AND PRECIP GOING (THO DECREASING
SIGNIFICANTLY) OVR N ID AND FAR ERN WA. WITH THE POTENTIAL OF
WIDESPREAD QPF OF 0.5 INCHES OVR N ID TODAY AND TONIGHT PER ETA AND
HPC MANUAL PROGS, RIVERS WL CONTINUE TO RISE WITH CURRENT WARNINGS
REMAINING IN EFFECT.

THURS - UPPR RIDGING TO DRY OUT THE REGION THURS. ONLY NOTE IS THAT
UNSTABLE LOW-LEVEL WNW FLOW MAY KEEP CLOUDS AND A FEW SHOWERS GOING
IDZ004 AND CAMAS PRAIRIE REGION. OTHERWISE, AVNS SHORT WAVE TROF
MOVG THRU WRN BC SHOULD HAVE NO MAJOR AFFECT ON THE WX.

FRI - INCREASING MID AND HI CLOUDS AS THE NEXT TRANSIENT WAVE NEARS
THE COAST. SLOWER ETA PREFERRED AND WL NOT INTRODUCE PRECIP N
CASCADES PER COORDINATION WITH SEATTLE NWS.

EXTENDED...MODELS CONSISTENT RUN TO RUN WITH INCREASING CHC PRECIP
THIS WEEKEND WITH NEXT SHORT WAVE TROF MOVG INTO THE PAC NW. TC/BZ

...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 054/041/060/040/064 86000
COE 054/039/060/037/063 86100
PUW 057/040/060/039/062 66100
LWS 062/046/063/046/068 35100
CQV 056/038/066/038/069 95100
SPT 054/039/059/036/062 +6110
WWP 048/039/055/037/060 +7110
EAT 067/046/069/046/071 --000
MWH 067/041/069/041/072 33000

.OTX...WINTER STORM WARNING NRN AND C PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 5000
          FEET TODAY
    ...SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR IDAHO PANHANDLE AND PEND
          OREILLE COUNTY IN WASHINGTON.
    ...FLOOD WARNING FOR ST JOE RIVER IN IDAHO.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Boundary/Bonner/ X Nw Kootenai

When: May 22, 3:00 AM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Boundary/Bonner/ X Nw Kootenai forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 48.247, -116.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Shoshone/E Kootenai/E Benewah/E Latah

When: May 22, 3:00 AM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Shoshone/E Kootenai/E Benewah/E Latah forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 47.265, -116.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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, May 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: 5299485, 5299486.