Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, May 7 to 8, 2002
Start: 2002-05-07T10:00
End: 2002-05-08T03:00
Location: Idaho

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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.

A 36-hour snow event brought heavy snow to the central Idaho mountains and some higher plateaus in the Orofino/Grangeville region. Snowfall amounts ranged from 3-4 inches at Grangeville, Red River ranger station, Powell, and Headquarters; 6 inches at Dixie and Elk City; 12 inches at Savage Pass, and over 28 inches at Cool Creek in Clearwater County.

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 May 7, 8:25 AM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 7, 8:25 AM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
925 AM MDT TUE MAY 7 2002

.SHORT TERM...NO ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND STATE OKAY. HAVE INCREASED
SNOW AMOUNTS TODAY AND REPORTS OF 2-4 INCHES FAIRLY COMMON SO FAR
THIS MORNING. HEAVY WET SNOW STARTING TO CREATE PROBLEMS ON LEAFING
TREES AND WINDS YET TO KICK IN. UPPER LOW IN EASTERN WA TRYING TO
REFORM CLOSER TO THE BITTERROOTS AT 15Z. A MAJOR PLAYER WITH THIS
SYSTEM HAS BEEN A STRONG MID-LEVEL JET PUMPING PAC MOISTURE INTO
THE TROUGH...AND MOISTURE WRAPPING WELL BEFORE SYSTEM CROSSES THE
DIVIDE. SATELLITE ENHANCED TOPS MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL ID AND
ESPECIALLY ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER IN STRONG DIFFLUENCE REGION.
NORTH AREAS WILL BE UNDER INFLUENCE OF WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION
TODAY...WHILE SOUTH AND WEST MORE CONVECTIVE THIS AFTERNOON.
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL KEEP SNOW SHOWERS GOING OVER THE
CLEARWATERS/BITTERROOTS AND SOUTHERN VALLEYS THIS EVENING INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING. IMPROVING CONDITIONS TOMORROW AFTERNOON EXPECTED.
TEMPERATURES WILL NOT MOVE OUT OF THE 30S FOR MOST AREAS TODAY DUE TO
SNOW COVER...AND WILL BE CLOSE TO RECORD TERRITORY TONIGHT.  BOLDT

.LONG TERM...NEW MRF IN LINE WITH PREVIOUS RUN. UPPER TROF
MOVES THROUGH ON FRIDAY WITH NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE AREA SATURDAY
RESULTING IN UNSETTLED CONDITIONS AND CONTINUED COOLER THAN NORMAL
TEMPERATURES FOR THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEKEND. ON SUNDAY THE FLOW
TURNS MORE WESTERLY AND THEN SOUTHWEST FOR MONDAY. PREVIOUS FORECAST
ON TRACK WITH CHANCE OF PRECIP FRI AND SAT AND DRY SUN AND MON. TEMPS
SHOULD GRADUALLY WARM TO CLOSE TO NORMAL BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY. KPB

.MSO...HEAVY SNOW WARNING MTZ002-006-007-043 THROUGH THIS EVENING...
    ...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ABOVE 3000 FEET MTZ004-IDZ005>007 THROUGH
       THIS EVENING...
    ...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ABOVE 4500 FEET IDZ009-010 THROUGH THIS
       EVENING...
    ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MTZ003-005 THROUGH THIS EVENING...

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB JEE /042 028/052 028/055 3674212
     CEEE 036/053 035/055 033/056 033/056 033/ 29333311111
FCA SEE /038 026/048 026/053 36+5202
     CEEE 035/051 034/053 031/055 031/055 031/ 29333311111
POL SEE /039 029/050 029/054 36+5202
     CEEE 037/052 035/054 032/056 032/056 032/ 29333311111
MSO SEE /038 028/050 027/057 36+7211
     CEEE 035/053 034/055 032/059 032/059 032/ 29333311111
HMM SEE /040 028/052 027/060 36+7211
     CEEE 038/055 033/053 032/059 032/059 032/ 29333311111
BTM SEE /035 022/042 021/052 36+8311
     CEEE 032/054 029/049 028/055 028/055 028/ 29333311111
ORO WEE /048 034/060 034/063 36+5102
     CEEE 041/056 039/059 037/062 037/062 037/ 29333311111
GRV JEE /040 029/052 029/058 36+6102
     CEEE 035/053 033/055 032/058 032/058 032/ 29333311111
SMN OEE /045 029/050 027/056 3676301
     CEEE 035/058 033/055 033/061 033/061 033/ 29333311111

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Clearwater Mountains

When: May 7, 10:00 AM MST to May 8, 3:00 AM MST
Where: Northern Clearwater Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.674, -115.657 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Clearwater Mountains

When: May 7, 10:00 AM MST to May 8, 3:00 AM MST
Where: Southern Clearwater Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 45.844, -115.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Orofino / Grangeville Region

When: May 7, 10:00 AM MST to May 8, 3:00 AM MST
Where: Orofino / Grangeville Region forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.259, -115.562 (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

More

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: 5296570, 5296571, 5296572.