A long duration snow event brought heavy snow to north central Idaho from March 5 through March 8. A series of Pacific storm systems dropped enough snow to be measured in feet rather than inches across the region.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
A long duration snow event brought heavy snow to north central Idaho from March 5 through March 8. A series of Pacific storm systems dropped enough snow to be measured in feet rather than inches across the region. Total accumulations ranged from 1-3 feet across the Clearwater Mountain Region with the extremes of 41 inches at Dixie and 42 inches at Pierce, and 1-2 feet in the mountains of Lemhi County. Power outages and schools were closed in Clearwater County on March 7 due to heavy snow and downed trees.
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 Mar 5, 9:33 AM MST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
933 AM MST WED MAR 5 2003
.SHORT TERM...WILL BE UPDATING STATE SOON. TWEAKED SOME OF THE
CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS. SPECIFICALLY...DOWNGRADED THE WARNINGS FOR
IDZ007-008 TO MARGINAL ADVISORY AS LOOKS LIKE WINDS WILL DOWNSLOPE
THROUGHOUT SHORT TERM CAPPING ANY SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL. ALSO DELAYED
TIMING ON WARNING MTZ005 TO TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. OUR CURRENT
MOUNTAIN WARNINGS LOOK GOOD. SNOWFALL IN GLACIER ALREADY UP TO 8
INCHES AND CLEARWATERS ARE STARTING TO ACCUMULATE AS WELL. SOUTHERN
VALLEYS LOOK MARGINAL FOR GOOD SNOW TODAY AS ARCTIC BOUNDARY IS WELL
EAST OF US...PRECIPITATION BEING GENERATED BY FAIRLY UNSTABLE LAPSE
RATES BUT NO FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO GENERATE GOOD SNOWS. NORTHERN
VALLEYS NOT SO RELIANT ON FRONTAL BOUNDARIES AND WARNING THERE LOOKS
GOOD. MWJ
.LONG TERM...UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH THE EXTENDED. THE
EUROPEAN HAS DONE A MAJOR SHIFT FROM YESTERDAYS RIDGE BUILDING OVER
THE AREA LATE IN THE EXTENDED TO A RETURN TO MOIST WESTERLY FLOW.
HAVE MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE EXTENDED GRIDS FOR THIS CHANGE AND TO
MATCH UP WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE
A CHALLENGE THROUGH THE EXTENDED AS ARCTIC BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO
HOVER OVER THE CANADIAN BORDER. CURRENT TEMPERATURES LOOK GOOD AND
MADE NO MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS. MEAD
.MSO...WINTER STORM WARNINGS FOR MTZ002-003-006-043 TODAY THROUGH
THURSDAY...
...WINTER STORM WARNINGS ABOVE 3000 FEET FOR MTZ001-004
AND IDZ005-006 TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MTZ005 TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES BELOW 3000 FEET FOR MTZ001-004
TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY FOR IDZ009-
MTZ007...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ABOVE 3500 FEET TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY IDZ007-008...
...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB SSS /034 025/034 021/030 3397788
SEBB 015/024 013/024 013/026 016/030 016/ 27586444335
FCA SSS /034 020/033 017/027 3398888
SEEE 011/022 011/022 011/024 013/028 013/ 27576444335
POL SSS /037 023/034 023/031 3388888
SEEE 015/026 015/026 015/028 017/032 017/ 27676444335
MSO SSS /035 024/034 024/032 3388888
SEEE 015/027 016/027 016/029 020/033 020/ 27875544335
HMM SSS /038 023/035 024/033 3388888
SSEE 017/028 017/028 017/030 021/033 021/ 27875544335
BTM SSS /029 017/033 016/031 3377777
SEEE 010/025 000/025 000/027 013/030 013/ 27565544335
ORO RRR /050 035/051 033/043 3377777
REBB 033/044 028/044 028/044 027/048 027/ 27775544335
GRV SSS /041 030/042 028/038 3377788
SOEE 028/040 024/040 024/040 023/043 023/ 27875544335
SMN SSS /039 023/042 021/037 3355566
SEEE 016/031 017/031 017/033 016/037 016/ 27664444332MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-061300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 445 AM MST WED MAR 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO .DAY ONE... TODAY THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF STORMS WILL MOVE INTO NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA TODAY. AREAS OF HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THIS STORM SYSTEM TODAY INTO TONIGHT. THEREFORE NUMEROUS WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA. SEE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A SERIES OF MAJOR WINTER STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE REGION... PRODUCING PERIODS OF HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW POSSIBLY THROUGH SUNDAY. 1 TO 2 FEET OF NEW SNOW IS POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL IDAHO AND NORTHWEST MONTANA BY THURSDAY. THE VALLEYS OF WESTERN MONTANA MAY ALSO SEE SIGNIFICANT SNOW. REFER TO THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE GTFWSWMSO FOR CURRENT WINTER STORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT. THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING NEAR RECORD MARCH SNOWS IN SOME AREAS. PLEASE TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS TO PREPARE FOR THIS PROLONGED PERIOD OF HAZARDOUS WINTER CONDITIONS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 2003
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: 5347887, 5347888, 5347889, 5346798.