Interstate 15 was closed from Idaho Falls to Roberts from mile post 119 and 134 from 3:45 pm until 9:10 pm. Visibility was frequently reduced to zero miles with several accidents.
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 PIH wrote it up.
Interstate 15 was closed from Idaho Falls to Roberts from mile post 119 and 134 from 3:45 pm until 9:10 pm. Visibility was frequently reduced to zero miles with several accidents.
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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 9, 8:45 AM MST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 945 AM MDT MON APR 9 2007 .UPDATE...SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER FORECAST AREA AND WILL CHANGE WORDING FROM CHANCE TO AREAL COVERAGE. OTHERWISE...WINDS ARE A LITTLE LATE BUT HAVE DEVELOPED AND THE WIND ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE. LATEST WACHTER WIND SCHEME INDICATES EVENT SHOULD BE OVER CLOSER TO 600 PM TONIGHT RATHER THAN 900 PM. BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THE OVERNIGHT AND ANOTHER WINDY DAY ON TUE...THOUGH NOT ATTAINING ADVISORY LEVELS. THE OTHER MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM FOR TDA IS THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT. PRECIPITABLE WATER LOOKS VERY LOW FOR CENTRAL IDAHO MOUNTAINS...PEAKING AROUND 0.35 INCH AND MUCH OF THE TIME AROUND 0.25 INCH. EXPECTING CLOSER TO 0.50 IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE FORECAST AREA AND DOWN THE CONTDIVID ALONG THE WYOMING BORDER. THESE ARE THE ONLY AREAS WITH ENOUGH NEGATIVE LIFTED INDEX AND CAPE TO GENERATE -TSRA...AND IT PRETTY MUCH LINES UP WITH PREVIOUS THINKING ON THE EXTENT OF THIS LEVEL OF CONVECTION. CHANGES FORTHCOMING. MESSICK .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. UPPER RIDGE OVER FCST AREA THIS MORNING WILL RAPIDLY FALL APART TODAY AS STRONG PACIFIC JET NOSES INTO EASTERN IDAHO. SFC COLD FRONT PROGGED TO PASS THROUGH AROUND MIDDAY. PRECIP SHIELD CURRENTLY OVER NORTHEAST OREGON PER 88D MOSAIC WILL PUSH EAST AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND SPREAD ACROSS FCST AREA THROUGH AFTN. WEAK INSTABILITY PAINTED BY BOTH GFS AND NAM MODELS THIS MORNING ALONG WYOMING BORDER THIS AFTERNOON ALONG AND AHEAD OF FRONT. THUS ADDED SLIGHT CHANCE THUNDER. MAIN CONCERN WILL BE WINDS WITH CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA IN SNAKE VALLEY. STRONG ZONAL FLOW CONTINUES OVERNIGHT INTO TUE BUT SFC GRADIENT RELAXES SLIGHTLY FOR ONLY BREEZY CONDITIONS. MAINLY CHANCE PRECIP CONTINUES OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS THROUGH TUE. NEXT PACIFIC LOW BEGINS TO DIP SOUTH ALONG PACIFIC COAST TUE NIGHT. GFS AND NAM STARTING TO DRIFT APART AS WELL WITH GFS DEPICTING SLIGHTLY MORE AMPLIFIED TRANSITORY RIDGE AHEAD OF IT. BOTH MODELS KEEP PRECIP OUT OF FCST AREA SO OPTED TO MAINTAIN VERY LOW POPS TUE NIGHT AND WED ACROSS FCST AREA. DMH .LONG TERM...WED NIGHT THROUGH NEXT MONDAY. LATEST MODEL RUNS SHOW EXTENDED PERIOD TO BE PRETTY MUCH A CONTINUATION OF THE PAST WEEK...SERIES OF TROF/RIDGE COUPLETS MOVING THRU CWA WITH TYPICAL SEASONAL MIX OF WARM AND COOL TEMPS. FIRST TROF SKIRTS FAR SOUTHERN IDAHO ON THURS WITH WEAK SECONDARY SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL MTNS ON FRIDAY...EACH BRINGING SCT -SHRA AND -SHSN TO AFFECTED AREAS. WARM AND DRY 500MB RIDGING RETURNS IN EARNEST LATE FRIDAY WITH RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING WELL NORTH OF US/CAN BORDER. MEANWHILE...FAIRLY STRONG ALASKAN LOW AND TROF MOVES JUST OFF PACNW COAST ON SATURDAY AND BEGINS TO SPLIT WITH SOUTHERN PORTION FORMING CLOSED MID LEVEL LOW IN SRN CA BY SUNDAY. NORTHERN HALF OF TROF REACHES CWA ON SUNDAY BUT IS MARKEDLY WEAKENED DUE TO SPLIT FLOW...KEEPING ONLY MINIMAL POPS FOR CENTRAL MTNS. TROF CONTINUES TO WEAKEN AND MOVES INTO WY/MT EARLY MON WITH MORE RIDGING TO FOLLOW INTO TUES. WARANAUSKAS && .AVIATION...COLD FRONT IN CENTRAL OREGON AS OF 09Z WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE STEADY EASTWARD PROGRESS TODAY REACHING SOUTHEAST IDAHO AFTER 18Z. LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS MOST MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT IS BEING SHUNTED INTO ERN WA WITH A PRONOUNCED DRY SLOT FOLLOWING THE FRONT. AS FRONT CROSSES IDAHO...COMBINATION OF SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND SIGNIFICANT DOWNWARD MIXING IN THE DRY AIR WILL GENERATE WINDS GUSTING TO 35 TO 45 KTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE SNAKE RIVER BASIN FROM KBOI TO KRXE THIS AFTN AND EVE. FOR CIGS AND VIS...MOST OF THE REGION WILL MAINTAIN VFR THRU THE DAY EXCEPT FOR AREAS FROM KIDA TO KJAC WHERE PATCHY MVFR CIGS EXIST THIS MORNING WITH ADDITIONAL PERIODS OF MVFR AND SOME IFR UNTIL THE FRONT MOVES EAST OF KJAC AFTER MIDNIGHT. WARANAUSKAS && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR IDZ017-020-021. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 601 AM MDT MON APR 9 2007 IDZ017>025-031-032-101215- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY-SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS-UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS- UPPER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN-LOWER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN- SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-CARIBOU HIGHLANDS- CACHE VALLEY/IDAHO PORTION-WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION- BIG AND LITTLE WOOD RIVER REGION-LOST RIVER/PAHSIMEROI- 601 AM MDT MON APR 9 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE ACROSS EASTERN IDAHO TODAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THE FRONT. BEHIND THE FRONT...VERY STRONG WINDS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP. SUSTAINED WINDS AROUND 30 MPH WITH GUSTS APPROACHING 50 MPH ARE LIKELY IN THE SNAKE VALLEY. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. SEVERAL PACIFIC SYSTEMS ARE FORECAST TO PASS THROUGH EASTERN IDAHO THIS WEEK. COOL AND UNSETTLED CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WE ASK TRAINED SPOTTERS AND CITIZENS TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. THESE CONDITIONS MAY INCLUDE HAIL...TORNADOES...STRONG WIND...DUST STORMS...SNOWFALL... EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES...FREEZING RAIN OR HEAVY RAIN...DENSE FOG...AND FLOODING OR ICE JAMS. INFORMATION ABOUT THESE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS SHOULD BE CALLED INTO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN POCATELLO USING THE 1-800 SEVERE WEATHER HOTLINE...OR 208-233-0834.
1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained winds of 40 mph were recorded in Roberts from 4:30 pm until 6:00 pm MDT and extensive blowing dust reduced visibility to near zero miles on interstate 15 and it was closed between mile posts 119 and 134 due to the winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, April 2007
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: 32857.