Heavy Snow, Owyhee Mountains
- When
- December 12, 9:00 PM MST to December 13, 7:00 AM MST
- Where
- Owyhee Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 42.582, -116.170 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 12 to 14, 2003
A series of very moist pacific storm systems moved across Eastern Oregon and Southwest Idaho during the period 12 to 14 December 2003 with heavy snow in the mountains. Strong winds developed behind the cold front as it passed Saturday night, with areas of blowing and drifting snow.
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
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 BOI wrote it up.
A series of very moist pacific storm systems moved across Eastern Oregon and Southwest Idaho during the period 12 to 14 December 2003 with heavy snow in the mountains. Strong winds developed behind the cold front as it passed Saturday night, with areas of blowing and drifting snow.
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 Boise, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 2:49 PM MST, 6 hours 11 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 2:49 PM MST, 6 hours 11 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE IDAHO
249 PM MST FRI DEC 12 2003
.SHORT TERM...LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW CONTINUE IN CWA WITH TEMPS ALREADY
IN 30S IN MOST AREAS. PCPN WILL INCREASE FROM THE WEST TONIGHT NEAR
INDISTINCT WARM FRONT...WITH MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ADDING TO
ALREADY-MOIST AIR MASS...AND GREATER MID LEVEL LIFT. WITH 850-700 MB
THICKNESS RISING FROM ABOUT 1535M THIS EVENING PAST 1550M SATURDAY
MORNING... TEMPERATURES WILL BE SLOWLY RISING OVERNIGHT WHILE SNOW
LEVEL CLIMBS PAST 5000 FEET BY SUNRISE SATURDAY TO NEAR 6000 FEET
SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHEN MOST OF THE PCPN WILL FALL.
STILL... ENOUGH SNOW BEFORE MIXING WITH OR CHANGING TO RAIN TO
ADVISORY OR HEAVY SNOW WARNING IN ZONES LISTED BELOW. COLD FRONT
WILL COME THROUGH OREGON ZONES PRE-DAWN SUNDAY AND IDAHO ZONES
SUNDAY MORNING AND BOTH TEMPS AND SNOW LEVEL WILL FALL
SHARPLY...SEVERAL MORE INCHES OF SNOW MAY ACCUMULATE DURING THAT
EVENT...AND WINTER STORM WATCH WILL BE CONSIDERED AFTER NEAR-TERM
EVENTS HAVE ENDED. WINDY...DRYING AND TURNING COLDER LATE SUNDAY AND
SUNDAY NIGHT...AS SURFACE PRESSURE BUILDS AND UPPER TROUGH COMES
IN...THEN PARTLY CLOUDY AND SEASONABLY COLD MONDAY.
.LONG TERM.../MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/ EXTENDED PERIOD BEGINS
WITH UPPER RIDGE BUILDING OVER NORTHERN ROCKIES. NEW AVN/GFS RUNS
SUGGESTING MORE PROGRESSIVE PATTERN...BRINGING NEXT SYSTEM INLAND
EARLY WEDNESDAY...6-12H QUICKER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. THE 12Z ECMWF
WAS UNAVAILABLE AT TIME OF ANALYSIS. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW
DOWNSTREAM AMPLIFICATION OF UPPER FLOW WHICH WOULD SUGGEST A SLOWER
PATTERN. THUS HAVE NOT ENTIRELY BOUGHT INTO BRINGING SYSTEM IN FOR
EARLY WED...BUT HAVE MADE SMALL CHANGES TO SPEED UP FORECAST A BIT
BRINGING CHANCE OF PRECIP BACK TO NORTHERN AND WESTERN ZONES FOR WED
NIGHT. ENTIRE AREA IS BACK INTO MOIST WESTERLY FLOW BY THURSDAY.
TEMPERATURES FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD EXPECTED TO BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY
ABOVE NORMAL.
&&
WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.ID...HEAVY SNOW WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY ABOVE 6000 FEET
WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND BOISE MOUNTAINS...ZONES 11 13.
SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT AND SATURDAY BELOW 5500 FEET WEST CENTRAL
IDAHO MOUNTAINS AND BOISE MOUNTAINS...ZONES 11 13.
.OR...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT ABOVE 4000 FEET BAKER COUNTY...ZONE 62.
&&
SHORT TERM...LC
LONG TERM...DGHazardous weather outlook, Dec 12, 5:00 AM MST, 16 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION FOR SEGMENTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID 500 AM MST FRI DEC 12 2003 ORZ062-131200- BAKER COUNTY- 400 AM PST FRI DEC 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST IDAHO AND SOUTHEAST OREGON. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT ABOVE 4500 FEET IN BAKER COUNTY. HEAVY SNOW IS POSSIBLE AS A SERIES OF VERY MOIST STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ012-014>016-029-030-ORZ061-063-064-131200- HARNEY COUNTY-LOWER TREASURE VALLEY-MALHEUR COUNTY- OREGON LOWER TREASURE VALLEY-OWYHEE MOUNTAINS- SOUTHERN TWIN FALLS COUNTY-SOUTHWEST HIGHLANDS-UPPER TREASURE VALLEY- WESTERN MAGIC VALLEY- 500 AM MST (400 AM PST) FRI DEC 12 2003 .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. IDZ011-131200- WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS- 500 AM MST FRI DEC 12 2003 .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT ABOVE 4500 FEET IN THE WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. HEAVY SNOW IS POSSIBLE AS A SERIES OF VERY MOIST STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ013-028-131200- BOISE MOUNTAINS-CAMAS PRAIRIE- 500 AM MST FRI DEC 12 2003 .DAY ONE...TODAY A WINTER STORM WATCH ABOVE 5000 FEET IN THE BOISE MOUNTAINS AND ABOVE 5500 FEET IN THE CAMAS PRAIRIE IS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. A WINTER STORM WATCH ABOVE 5000 FEET IN THE BOISE MOUNTAINS AND ABOVE 5500 FEET IN THE CAMAS PRAIRIE IS IN EFFECT SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. HEAVY SNOW IS POSSIBLE AS A SERIES OF VERY MOIST STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 winter storm, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, West Central Mountains
- When
- December 13, 6:00 AM MST to December 14, 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- West Central Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.543, -116.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Boise Mountains
- When
- December 13, 7:00 AM MST to December 14, 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Boise Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.602, -115.335 (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.
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Avalanche in Washington, December 12, 2003
- Flooding in Maine, December 12, 2003
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, December 12 to 13, 2003
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 12, 2003
- Winter Storm in Kansas, December 12 to 13, 2003
- Heavy Rain in Oregon, December 12 to 14, 2003
- Winter Storm in Kansas, December 12 to 13, 2003
- Winter Storm in Kansas, December 12 to 13, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 12 to 14, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, December 12 to 13, 2003
- Winter Storm in Arkansas, December 12 to 13, 2003
- Flooding in Oregon, December 12 to 14, 2003
More
Every storm in Idaho in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2003
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: 5328819, 5328820, 5328821.