Idaho, 2002

Extreme Cold in Idaho, May 8 to 10, 2002

May 8 to 10, 2002 · NWS PIH · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

An extremely cold spring airmass moved into southeast Idaho during the early morning hours of May 8th and very cold air remained entrenched through the morning of May 10th. The extreme cold coming on the heels of a high wind event on May 7th combined to wipe out about 50 percent of the initial planting of sugar beets in the Snake River Plain.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

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.

An extremely cold spring airmass moved into southeast Idaho during the early morning hours of May 8th and very cold air remained entrenched through the morning of May 10th. The extreme cold coming on the heels of a high wind event on May 7th combined to wipe out about 50 percent of the initial planting of sugar beets in the Snake River Plain. No estimates on total losses were yet available. Low temperatures in the low to mid teens were commonplace in the Upper Snake River Plain and southeast highlands. The city of Pocatello recorded two consecutive record lows of 25 degrees on the 8th and 20 degrees on the 9th. The 20 degrees tied an all-time record low temperature for the month of May.

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 May 7, 8:00 PM MST, 4 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 7, 8:00 PM MST, 4 hours 1 minute before
SOUTHEAST IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO/IDAHO FALLS ID
900 PM MDT TUE MAY 7 2002

DRY SUBSIDENT AIR BEHIND VORT MAX WORKED INTO THE SNAKE PLAIN
BETWEEN 23Z AND 00Z WHICH ERODED THE CLOUD COVER AND ALLOWED WINDS
TO EXCEED HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA.  DEW POINTS OVER THE SNAKE
PLAIN...AROUND 10F...ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN MODEL GUIDANCE
PREDICTED.  WILL HAVE TO RETHINK FORECAST MINS FOR THIS...ESPECIALLY
IF WINDS GO LIGHT...WHICH ETA/MESOETA SUPPORT.  18Z MAV GUIDANCE AT
PIH PREDICTS MINS OF 24 FOR TONIGHT AND 21 TOMORROW NIGHT...BOTH
WOULD BREAK THE RECORD LOWS OF 26 FOR TONIGHT AND 27 TOMORROW NIGHT.
WILL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE A FREEZE WARNING FOR ZONES 17/20/21 AND
HIGHLIGHT RECORD LOW MINS FOR TONIGHT.

ADDITIONALLY CONVERGENCE EVENT SPAWNED BY DRAINAGE WINDS FROM THE
BIG AND LITTLE LOST RIVER VALLYES APPROACHING THE I-15 CORRIDOR
NORTH OF BLACKFOOT...BUT NOT EXPECTING MUCH PRECIP DUE TO THE VERY
DRY AIR IN PLACE AT THE SFC.

WINDS HAVE DECREASED BELOW 30MPH SO WILL LET THE WIND WARNING EXPIRE.

BRONG

.KSFX...OPERATIONAL...VCP 21.

BYI 29/52/28/63 2000

.PIH...FREEZE WARNING FOR THE EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY AND THE SNAKE
RIVER PLAIN FOR LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

PIH BB 030/049 025/059 033 06300

Event by event

9 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Big and Little Wood River Region

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Big and Little Wood River Region forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Caribou Highlands

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Caribou Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Magic Valley

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Eastern Magic Valley forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lost River / Pahsimeroi

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Lost River / Pahsimeroi forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Snake River Plain

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Lower Snake River Plain forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sawtooth Mountains

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Sawtooth Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, South Central Highlands

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
South Central Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Upper Snake Highlands

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Upper Snake Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Upper Snake River Plain

When
May 8, 12:01 AM MST to May 10, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Upper Snake River Plain forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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, 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: 5299837, 5299838, 5299839, 5299840, 5299841, 5299842, 5299843, 5299844, 5299845.