Flooding in Idaho, February 1 to 2, 2003

Name: Flooding in Idaho, February 1 to 2, 2003
Start: 2003-02-01T00:00
End: 2003-02-02T00:00
Location: Idaho

February 1 to 2, 2003 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Continuous rainfall for several days caused small creeks to rise and overtop their banks in Clearwater County, Idaho. County officials had to sandbag Orofino Creek near Orofino, as well as portions of the towns of Weippe and Pierce, where flood waters covered and washed out county roads and affected some homes.

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 MSO wrote it up.

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 Jan 31, 8:30 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 8:30 PM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
830 PM MST FRI JAN 31 2003

.SHORT TERM...WILL UPDATE ZONES TONIGHT...STATE LOOKS OK. SNOW
LEVELS HAVE STARTED TO SLOWLY DROP IN THE NORTHERN ZONES...LOOKOUT
PASS (6026 FT) ON THE MONTANA/IDAHO BORDER CHANGED OVER FROM RAIN TO
SNOW AT ABOUT 2Z. WILL LOWER A FEW TEMPERATURES FOR TONIGHT...AND
REMOVE THE EVENING WORDING FROM SOME OF THE ZONES. OTHERWISE CURRENT
FORECAST LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK...WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE CONTINUING
TO MOVE INTO THE CWA FROM THE WEST. RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY
SHOWS THE HEAVIEST PRECIP MOVING ACROSS THE CENTRAL SECTION OF THE
CWA FROM THE IDAHO PANHANDLE EAST. WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME REPORTS
OF MINOR SMALL STREAM FLOODING IN CLEARWATER COUNTY IDAHO SO WILL
CONTINUE THE FLOOD ADVISORY. ALSO WILL CONTINUE THE WINTER STORM
WARNINGS FOR THE MOUNTAINS. KOLATA

.LONG TERM...MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON EXTENDED UPPER LEVEL
PATTERNS. PREVIOUS MRF LOOKED THE ODD MAN OUT AFTER WED-FRI...BUT
LATEST GFS HAS COME IN LINE WITH EURO/UKMET. THE GENERAL IDEA BRINGS
FINAL SHORTWAVE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. THE WAVE HAS
MOVED IN CLOSER TO THE CWA WITH COLD POOL ALOFT AND A HINT OF LOW
LEVEL BOUNDARY ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA. THERE IS ALSO A HINT OF
SHALLOW ARCTIC AIR ACROSS THE NORTHEAST CWA. HAVE INCREASED POPS
UNDER THIS SCENARIO...BUT NOTHING OVER LOWER END CHANCE.
NEVERTHELESS...TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLING THROUGH THIS TIME FRAME.
THIS UPPER TROUGH WILL SWING SOUTH AND EAST INTO WEDNESDAY AS AN
UPPER RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA. THE UPPER FLOW
OVER THE CWA TURNS MORE NORTHEAST WHICH WILL BRING IN EVEN COLDER
TEMPERATURES...BUT A DRYING DOWNSLOPE FLOW. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS
WILL BE FOR SOME SPILLOVER INTO THE EASTERNMOST CWA WHERE SLIGHT
CHANCE WILL BE PAINTED. THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES OUT OF THE CWA
THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY WITH THE UPPER RIDGE BENDING OVER THE
NORTHWEST CWA. TRAPPED COLD AIR IN THE VALLEYS WILL KEEP TEMPS DOWN
AND POSSIBLY EVEN BRING IN AREAS OF LOW CLOUD AND FOG. WILL STILL
HOLD OFF ON MENTION OF THIS FOR NOW.  DICKSON

.MSO...WINTER STORM WARNING MTZ002-004-006-043-IDZ005-006 ABOVE 5000
        FEET TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.
       WINTER STORM WARNING IDZ009-010-MTZ007 ABOVE 6000 FEET TONIGHT
        THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
       URBAN AND/OR SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY IDAHO AND CLEARWATER
        COUNTIES THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EEE 033/044 028/038 021/033 28534212
     EBBB 018/033 018/032 017/034 020/036 3710000000
FCA EEE 034/043 024/034 018/029 28644301
     EBBB 015/029 015/028 013/030 014/032 3710000000
POL EEE 037/044 026/036 020/031 28844311
     EBBB 017/031 017/030 015/032 015/034 3710000000
MSO REE 036/044 027/037 020/030 28+73301
     EBBB 017/030 017/029 015/031 015/033 3721000000
HMM REE 039/045 026/037 018/030 28+74302
     EBBB 015/030 015/029 013/031 013/033 3721000000
BTM OCE 034/037 016/033 010/026 28794412
     EEBB 007/025 004/024 002/026 002/028 3723110000
ORO REE 045/051 034/045 031/042 28863012
     EBBB 028/042 028/041 028/043 029/045 3720000000
GRV REE 039/047 029/040 026/036 28973123
     EBBB 023/036 023/035 021/037 022/039 3721000000
SMN REE 034/040 021/032 014/026 28793201
     EEBB 011/025 008/024 006/026 006/028 3732100000

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 12:15 PM MST, 11 hours 45 minutes before

MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-011300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1215 PM MST FRI JAN 31 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A WARM MOIST PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION
TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY. WARM AIR AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM WILL RAISE
SNOW LEVELS TO THE HIGHEST PEAKS TODAY. AS COLDER AIR APPROACHES THE
REGION OVERNIGHT...SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER AND SIGNIFICANT SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS WILL OCCUR IN THE MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT. ALSO GUSTY WEST
WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL MOVE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS REGIONS
TONIGHT RESULTING IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. HEAVY RAINFALL HAS
CAUSED SMALL CREEK FLOODING AND ROCK SLIDES IN NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO.
SEE GTFWSWMSO AND GTFFLSMSO FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

AS THE ABOVE MENTIONED PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MOVES EAST OF THE REGION
SATURDAY SNOW LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
WILL CONTINUE TO BE SIGNIFICANT THROUGH THE MORNING...THEN
DECREASE TO SHOWER THROUGH THE DAY. THE PROBABILITY OF HAZARDOUS
WEATHER WILL REMAIN LOW FOR SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 31, 9:20 PM MST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
0920 PM MST FRI JAN 31 2003

TIME(MST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0903 PM    OROFINO                   ID   FLOOD
01/31/03   CLEARWATER                     ORIFINO CREEK OVERFLOWING
                                          ITS BANKS.  SHERIFFS DEPT
                                          IS OUT SANDBAGGING.  ONE
                                          HOME BADLY DAMAGED.

MWJ

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Orofino / Grangeville Region

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 2, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Orofino / Grangeville Region forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 46.259, -115.562 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Northern Clearwater Mountains

When: February 1, 12:00 AM MST to February 2, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Northern Clearwater Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 46.674, -115.657 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Idaho in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, February 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: 5343034, 5343035.