Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 6 to 7, 2004

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 6 to 7, 2004
Start: 2004-12-06T17:00
End: 2004-12-07T13:00
Location: Idaho

December 6 to 7, 2004 · NWS BOI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong Pacific storm system moved across southern Oregon on Monday December 6th and into southern Idaho on the 7th. This system brought with it very heavy snow to the mountains of Baker County in Oregon, West Central Mountains, Boise Mountains and the Camas Prairie in Idaho.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

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 6, 4:00 PM MST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 6, 4:00 PM MST, 1 hour before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE IDAHO
400 PM MON DEC 6 2004

.SHORT TERM...DEEP MOISTURE AND LIFT WHICH ARE SOUTH OF A
/SECONDARY/ SURFACE LOW CENTER THAT WILL MOVE FROM SW OREGON THIS
EVENING ACROSS IDAHO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...WILL BRING GUSTY WINDS
AND ADVISORY SNOW TO THE NWRN ZONES TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.
LIQUED EQUIVALENT HAS BEEN JUST UNDER THE 0.1/3HRS ADVERTISED BY
THE GFS/ETA BUT GOOD OROGRAPHIC LIFT INTO THE CETNRAL MTS/BOISE MTS
BLUE MTS OF SE OREGON...AND CAMAS PRAIRIE LATER ON TONIGHT...WILL
PRODUCE HIGH END SNOW ADVISORY ACCUMULATIONS. WINDS WILL INCREASE
LATER THIS EVENING IN HARNEY COUNTY AND TOWARDS MIDNIGHT FOR BOISE
AREA...CAUSING AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE MOUNTIANS.  EXPOSED
PEAKS WILL GET GUSTS AROUND 50 MPH BUT VALLEYS SHOULD TOP OUT AROUND
35 MPH GUSTS.  ANOTHER MOIST WARM OVERRUNNING EVENT IS ON TAP FOR
WEDNEDAY AS WELL ALTHOUGH WARMING BRINGS SNOW LEVELS UP TO 5000
NORTH TO 6500 FT SOUTH. ONLY SLIGHT COOLING TONIGHT SRN VALLEYS AS
LIGHT SNOW AND WINDS DEVELOP THEN TEMPERATURES REBOUNDING TO AROUND
AVERAGE TUESDAY...ABOVE NORMAL INTO WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.
INCREASING HEIGHTS ON THURSDAY PUSH MOIST BAND AND STORM TRACK
FURTHER  N FOR SOME LOWERING OF POPS ...CHC-SLGHT CHC... SOUTH BUT
STILL LIKELY NORTH THROUGH THURSDAY.

AVIATION...INCREASING CLOUDS OVER THE AREA LATE THIS EVENING WITH
LCL MVFR CONDITIONS IN -SN.  WIDESPREAD MVFR CIGS AND VSBY IN -SN
WILL SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST OVER IDAHO AFTER 03Z AND WILL REMAIN
OVER ID THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON.

.LONG TERM...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT
WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD.  LATEST RUN OF THE
GFSLR HAS NOT GONE BACK TO PREVIOUS PATTERN OF 48 HOURS AGO.  FRIDAY
WEAK RIDGING WILL BEGIN TO BUILD ALONG THE WEST COAST AND WILL SHIFT
THE MOISTURE TO THE NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA.  THIS WILL STILL
KEEP A MOIST NORTHWEST FLOW OVER NORTHERN ZONES SO WILL KEEP SLIGHT
CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS THESE ZONES AND DRY THINGS OUT OVER SOUTHERN
ZONES.  SATURDAY AND SUNDAY GFSLR NOW BACK TO A WEAK SHORTWAVE
TROUGH RIDING OVER THE TOP OF THE RIDGE WITH ENOUGH MOISTURE IN THE
FLOW OF THE RIDGE TO KEEP A MENTION OF SLIGHT CHANCE POPS OVER THE
FORECAST AREA.  FOR MONDAY HIGH PRESSURE TO REBUILD OVER THE
FORECAST AREA BUT LATEST RUN OF THE GFSLR IS HINTING AT BRINGING A
SHORTWAVE TROUGH NORTH ALONG THE WEST COAST.  WILL PUT SOME SLIGHT
CHANCE POPS OVER WESTERN ZONES BUT WILL KEEP IT DRY FOR EASTERN
ZONES.  TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR OR JUST SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AND THEN A FEW DEGREES COOLER FOR SUNDAY AND
MONDAY.

&&

.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVY 6PM-NOON 11/13/28.
OR...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVY 6PM-6AM HARNEY COUNTY ZONE 61
     SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVY 6PM-NOON BAKER COUNTY ZONE 62

&&

WEATHER.GOV/BOISE

SHORT TERM...VM
AVIATION AND LONG TERM..JA

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 6, 6:00 AM MST, 11 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
600 AM MST MON DEC 6 2004

IDZ011>016-028>030-ORZ061>064-071300-
BAKER COUNTY-BOISE MOUNTAINS-CAMAS PRAIRIE-HARNEY COUNTY-
LOWER TREASURE VALLEY-MALHEUR COUNTY-OREGON LOWER TREASURE VALLEY-
OWYHEE MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN TWIN FALLS COUNTY-SOUTHWEST HIGHLANDS-
UPPER TREASURE VALLEY-WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-WESTERN MAGIC VALLEY-
600 AM MST (500 AM PST) MON DEC 6 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST IDAHO AND SOUTHEAST
OREGON.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

POSSIBLE HEAVY SNOW TONIGHT FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHEASTERN
OREGON AND SOUTHWESTERN IDAHO AND THE SOUTHWEST HIGHLANDS OF IDAHO.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

POSSIBLE HEAVY SNOW TUESDAY FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHEASTERN OREGON
AND SOUTHWESTERN IDAHO AND THE SOUTHWEST HIGHLANDS OF IDAHO.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, West Central Mountains

When: December 6, 5:00 PM MST to December 7, 1:00 PM MST
Where: West Central Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.543, -116.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Boise Mountains

When: December 6, 7:00 PM MST to December 7, 11:00 AM MST
Where: Boise Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.602, -115.335 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Camas Prairie

When: December 6, 10:00 PM MST to December 7, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Camas Prairie forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.409, -115.137 (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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Idaho in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, December 2004

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: 5430858, 5430859, 5430860.