Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 8, 2004

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 8, 2004
Start: 2004-12-08T07:00
End: 2004-12-08T18:00
Location: Idaho

December 8, 2004 · NWS BOI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong Pacific storm sysytem moved across Oregon during the day of December 7th and into Eastern Oregon and Southwestern Idaho in the early morning hours of December 8th. This system brought with it heavy snow to the mountains of Eastern Baker County in Oregon and to the mountains areas and the Camas Prairie of Southwestern 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 8, 3:08 AM MST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 8, 3:08 AM MST, 3 hours 52 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE IDAHO
310 AM WED DEC 8 2004

.SHORT TERM...3RD IN A SERIES OF PACIFIC STORMS MOVING ACROSS THE
AREA TODAY WITH PERHAPS THE HEAVIEST QPF OF ANY OF THE OTHERS.  THE
TRICK WITH THIS ONE IS THAT IT IS WARMER WITH HIGHER SNOW LEVELS.
THUS, CURRENT HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS REMAIN CONFINED TO THE THREE
MOUNTAIN ZONES NORTH OF THE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY AND FOR A PERIOD
EXTENDING THRU TODAY.  OTHER AREAS BELOW 5000 FEET WILL SEE RAIN AND
WIND.  HAVE ALREADY ISSUED WIND ADVISORY FOR EASTERN OREGON ZONES
AND THIS MATCHES WELL WITH MFR AND PDT OFFICES.  RAWS AND OTHER SFC
REPORTS SHOWING NUMEROUS OBS OF 30-40 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH.
LATEST SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW THE CLASSIC HAMMERHEAD SIGNATURE MOVING
THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.  HEAVIEST QPF REMAINS TARGETED FOR
THE SIERRA AND CASCADES WITH SECONDARY BULLSEYE OVER THE BLUES AND
WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS.  LONG FETCH OF PACIFIC MOISTURE FINALLY
DIMINISHES THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT WITH YET ANOTHER PLUME COMING
ONSHORE DURING THURSDAY.  THIS TIME HOWEVER, A RIDGE OVER THE
SOUTHWEST AND GREAT BASIN BEGINS BUILDING AND DIRECTING THIS
MOISTURE NORTH OF THE AREA ON THE CREST OF THE RIDGE AXIS.
TEMPERATURES TO STAY WELL ABOVE NORMAL IN THIS PATTERN AND LIKELY TO
BREAK ABOVE 50F ON FRIDAY WITH PEAKS OF SUNSHINE OVER SOUTHERN MOST
ZONES.  WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A COUPLE MID 50S REPORTS OVER
EXTREME SE OREGON FRIDAY.

.LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...THE LONGWAVE RIDGE
POSITION REMAINS OVER OUR ZONES WEAKENING MONDAY AND TUESDAY WITH
THE PASSAGE OF A SHORTWAVE TROUGH. MOIST FLOW COMING THROUGH THE
RIDGE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY WILL SUPPORT LOW POPS FAVORING OUR
MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN ZONES. THEN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE LONG
TERM THE GFSLR HAS BEEN CONSISTENT RUN TO RUN WITH THE SHORTWAVE FOR
THE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY TIME FRAME AND A SECOND WAVE WITH LESS
CONFIDENT TIMING PERHAPS LATE TUESDAY. THE ECMWF HAS COME ON BOARD
WITH THE MONDAY DISTURBANCE AND THE CANADIAN HAS BEEN SHOWING SOME
SORT OF TROUGH FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE OF RUNS. SO LOW POPS WILL
CONTINUE. TEMPERATURES WILL AVERAGE 5-10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL DUE TO
ABOVE NORMAL HEIGHTS AND ADEQUATE MIXING.

.AVIATION...WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
TONIGHT WITH AREAS MVFR LOWER VALLEYS AND AREAS IFR HIGHER VALLEYS
AND MOUNTAINS. GUSTY SOUTHEAST SURFACE WINDS WILL BE LOCALLY
SUSTAINED OVER 25 KT WITH GUSTS OVER 40 KT THIS MORNING GRADUALLY
DIMINISHING THIS AFTERNOON.

&&

.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...HEAVY SNOW WARNING UNTIL 6 PM WEDNESDAY ZONES 11 13 28
      FOR 6-14 INCHES OF NEW SNOW.
OR...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 3PM PST (4PM MST) WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES 61 62
      63

&&

WEATHER.GOV/BOISE

SHORT TERM...GS
LONG TERM AND AVIATION...JT

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 8, 6:19 AM MST, 41 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 8, 2:24 AM MST, 4 hours 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
224 AM MST WED DEC 08 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 AM     HEAVY SNOW       31 S YELLOW PINE        44.46N 115.58W
12/07/2004  30.0 INCH        VALLEY             ID   CO-OP OBSERVER

            DEADWOOD LODGE CO-OP...TOTAL 37 INCHES

0800 AM     HEAVY SNOW       IDAHO CITY              43.84N 115.85W
12/07/2004  7.0 INCH         BOISE              ID   CO-OP OBSERVER

            TOTAL 7 INCHES

0800 AM     HEAVY SNOW       26 ESE YELLOW PINE      44.72N 115.01W
12/07/2004  9.0 INCH         CUSTER             ID   CO-OP OBSERVER

            MIDDLE FORK LODGE...TOTAL 9 INCHES

0838 AM     HEAVY SNOW       1 NW CASCADE            44.52N 116.06W
12/07/2004  12.0 INCH        VALLEY             ID   CO-OP OBSERVER

            TOTAL 18 INCHES

0900 AM     HEAVY SNOW       10 N COUNCIL            44.87N 116.43W
12/07/2004  22.0 INCH        ADAMS              ID   TRAINED SPOTTER

            24 HR SNOW FALL 23 INCHES...WATER 2.13 INCHES

0400 PM     SNOW             1 W HILL CITY           43.30N 115.07W
12/07/2004  4.0 INCH         ELMORE             ID   CO-OP OBSERVER

            SNOW FALL 5 INCHES

0600 PM     HEAVY SNOW       CENTERVILLE             43.92N 115.88W
12/07/2004  8.0 INCH         BOISE              ID   CO-OP OBSERVER

            TOTAL 12 INCHES

&&

JS

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, Boise Mountains

When: December 8, 7:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Boise Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.602, -115.335 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Camas Prairie

When: December 8, 7:00 AM MST to 6:00 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)

Heavy Snow, West Central Mountains

When: December 8, 8:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where: West Central Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.543, -116.300 (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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5429065, 5429066, 5430862.