Winter storm brought heavy snow and strong gusty winds to north central Idaho. Snowfall totals ranged from 8 to 10 inches.
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.
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.
Winter storm brought heavy snow and strong gusty winds to north central Idaho. Snowfall totals ranged from 8 to 10 inches. Wind gustsof 35 to 45 MPH caused areas of blowing and drifting of snow.
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 Nov 23, 8:27 AM MST, 4 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 827 AM MST SUN NOV 23 2003 .SHORT TERM...TROF APPROACHING PACIFIC NW COAST THIS MORNING IS CAUSING SOME WEAK RIDGING OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. ASSOCIATED WEAK WARM ADVECTION IS PRODUCING SOME LIGHT SNOW OVER THE AREA. THINK THERE IS A FAIR AMOUNT OF LIGHT SNOW/FLURRIES GOING ON BUT RADAR IS OVERSHOOTING THE MAJORITY OF IT. HAVE HAD REPORTS OF ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM JUST A DUSTING OVER MOST AREAS TO A 1/2 INCH OVER THE CENTRAL BITTERROOT VALLEY. MOUNTAINS HAVE HAD A LITTLE MORE...ESP NORTH AND EAST OF KMSO WHERE RADAR RETURNS HAVE BEEN MOST IMPRESSIVE. GOT A REPORT OF AROUND 2 INCHES OVERNIGHT IN THE CLINTON AREA. 12Z MODEL RUNS PICKING UP ON THIS SNOW AND SHOW IT DECREASING BY LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON AS RIDGE AXIS MOVES OVER US. NOT SURE ITS GOING TO STOP ALTOGETHER...ESP OVER MTNS...BUT WILL LOOSELY FOLLOW THIS MODEL TREND. AM GOING TO HAVE TO UPDATE ZONES TO REFLECT CURRENT CONDITIONS AND MAKE SOME CORRECTIONS. LOOKS LIKE A MORE WIDESPREAD SNOW WILL DEVELOP OVER MOST AREAS TONIGHT AS THE NEXT UPSTREAM WAVE MOVES IN. WILL BE EVALUATING THIS FOR POTENTIAL HIGHLIGHTS THROUGH THE SHIFT TODAY. .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...MAIN CONCERN FOR TODAY WILL BE WHAT IMPACT THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM HAS FOR THE NORTHWEST MONTANA AND CENTRAL IDAHO. CURRENTLY DOES NOT LOOK AS THOUGH A WINTER STORM WATCH WILL BE WARRANTED FOR THIS SYSTEM AS THERE IS SOME DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY AND LACK OF CONFIDENCE THAT HEAVY SNOW CRITERIA WOULD BE MET FOR THESE AREAS IN 12 HOURS. THE SYSTEM DOES LOOK AS THOUGH IT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FAIRLY QUICK...THUS NO HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE PUT UP AT THIS TIME. THIS SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE AS THOUGH IT MAY POSE MORE OF A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TYPE OF THREAT...WILL SEE AS THIS GETS CLOSER. THE NEXT SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO COME INTO THIS PROGRESSIVE PATTERN ON TUESDAY. THIS SYSTEM PACKS A LITTLE MORE PUNCH IN THE WAY OF MOISTURE AND WIND. LITTLE CHANGE WILL BE MADE TO THE GOING TEMPERATURES TODAY...THOUGH THEY WILL BE ON THE INCREASE MONDAY AND TUESDAY. .LONG TERM...PREVIOUS EXTENDED FORECAST LOOKS GOOD...ONLY A FEW MINOR CHANGES MADE. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT IN KEEPING A PROGRESSIVE WEATHER PATTERN OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE PERIOD. LOOKS LIKE A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION EACH DAY...WITH THE BEST SHOT ON THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...NONE. ID...NONE. && SHORT TERM/WRIGHT PREVIOUS DISCUSSION/RPN LONG TERM/KOLATA
MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-241300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 848 AM MST SUN NOV 23 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO .DAY ONE... TODAY PERIODS LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE IN SOME AREAS TODAY. HOWEVER... SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED. THEREFORE...HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA OVER THE NEXT WEEK. THE FIRST OF THESE SYSTEMS WILL PASS THROUGH EARLY MONDAY MORNING AND PRODUCE MAINLY MOUNTAIN SNOW. THERE IS A STRONG POTENTIAL FOR WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES BEING ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR THIS FIRST SYSTEM AND FOR ADDITIONAL WINTER WEATHER HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH STORMS LATER IN THE WEEK (PLEASE MONITOR GTFWSWMSO UPDATES AND DETAILS). IN ADDITION TO PERIODS OF SNOW...COLDER THAN NORMAL WEATHER WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEK. WITH UPCOMING WEATHER PATTERN...PERSONS WITH TRAVEL PLANS IN THE AREA SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER FORECASTS FOR UPDATES AS WE GET CLOSER TO THESE EVENTS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. 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, November 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: 5331604, 5331605.