A storm which began shortly after midnignt on Christmas Eve and continued all day brought mixture of freezing rain and heavy snow to portions of southeast Idaho.
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.
A storm which began shortly after midnignt on Christmas Eve and continued all day brought mixture of freezing rain and heavy snow to portions of southeast Idaho.
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 Dec 23, 7:28 PM MST, 5 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 728 PM MST SUN DEC 23 2007 .UPDATE...MADE A FEW MINOR CHANGES TO FORECAST FOR TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. ALL HEADLINES STILL STAND. ALL INDICATIONS POINT TO A STRONG WINTER STORM IMPACTING EASTERN IDAHO TONIGHT AND INTO THE HEAVY CHRISTMAS EVE TRAVEL DAY. 00Z NAM HAS ARRIVED WITH A LITTLE LESS WARMING AHEAD OF COLD FRONT...AS WELL AS SLIGHTLY HIGHER PW VALUES. SOUTHERLY WINDS AHEAD OF FRONT MAY BE LIMITING FACTOR WITH SLIGHT DOWNSLOPING INTO SOUTHERN EDGE OF SNAKE VALLEY AND THROUGH SOUTHEAST CORNER. HOWEVER...OVERALL WIND SPEEDS LOOK TO BE TRENDING HIGHER WITH EACH SUCCESSIVE NAM RUN. 110KT UPPER JET CORE RIGHT ON TOP OF FCST AREA DURING THE DAY. GIVEN BLOWING SNOW THREAT...WILL KEEP HEADLINES GOING. TRENDED POPS HIGHER FOR MORE POSITIVE WEATHER WORDING IN GRIDS AND TEXT. TEXT UPDATES FORTHCOMING. DMH && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 236 PM MST SUN DEC 23 2007/ SHORT TERM...PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM APPROACHING IDAHO IS RUNNING A GOOD 6 HOURS FASTER THAN PREVIOUS INDICATIONS. THEREFORE HAVE MOVED UP TIMING OF EVENTS. EXPECT THE 700 MB TROUGH TO BE MOSTLY EAST OF THE STATE BY MONDAY EVENING. THE ENTIRE SYSTEM PASSES IN 12 TO 18 HOURS. SPEED OF SYSTEM COMBINED WITH LOWER QPF IN MODELS SUGGESTS TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE JUST SHORT OF WARNING CRITERIA. 12Z NAM STILL SHOWING TREND OF 06Z RUN ENDING PRECIPITATION OVER THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN MONDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...LOOKS LIKE FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLS OVER THE VALLEY AND SLOWLY RETREATS EASTWARD THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THAT COMPLICATES FORECAST AGAIN. UNLIKE THE MORE TRADITIONAL CONVERGENCE EVENTS...COULD END UP WITH A BAND OF SNOW SOMEWHERE BETWEEN BLACKFOOT AND IDAHO FALLS THAT DOES NOT PROGRESS ALL THE WAY SOUTH THROUGH THE VALLEY. ONE MORE COMPLICATION IS STRENGTH OF WARM ADVECTION NEAR MONDAY MORNING IN THE EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY. 12Z NAM SUGGEST A WARM LAYER PERHAPS 2000 FEET THICK...ENOUGH FOR MELTING OF SNOW. THIS COULD EVEN POSE A RISK FOR FREEZING DRIZZLE OR RAIN FOR A 3 TO 4 HOUR PERIOD. SURFACE WINDS SHOULD BE INCREASING ABOUT THAT TIME AND THAT WOULD INCREASE MIXING. FREEZING RAIN IS NOT A GIVEN BUT WILL MONITOR SITUATION. PRECIPITATION WOULD CHANGE BACK TO SNOW AS COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. LATEST MODELS SUGGEST STRENGTH OF WINDS NEAR BUT JUST BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL IN THE EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY AND LOWER SNAKE PLAIN DAYTIME MONDAY. NEXT SYSTEM COMES IN WEDNESDAY...MOVING PRETTY QUICK AND DRIER THAN PREVIOUS DISTURBANCE. SOME SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP BUT NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT ANY HIGHLIGHTS. RS LONG TERM...THU THROUGH NEXT SUN NIGHT. 500MB 5-WAVE STILL INDICATING TRANSITION THROUGH PERIOD FROM EARLY UPPER LEVEL RIDGING TO A BROAD TROUGHING OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND CANADA. THIS WOULD SUGGEST WETTER AND COLDER TOWARDS THE END OF THE FORECAST IN GENERAL. NOT MUCH AGREEMENT SEEN IN THE ENSEMBLE RUN BEYOND FRI NIGHT. HOWEVER OPERATIONAL GFS AND ECMWF DO AGREE FOR THE FIRST 48 HOURS OR SO. ONE STORM WRAPPING UP ON THU...CLEARING THU NIGHT...THEN ANOTHER STORM FOR FRI/FRI NIGHT. MESSICK AVIATION...CEILING IMPACTING AVIATION CONCERNS AND WITH INCOMING STORM WILL ONLY WORSEN. LATER TONIGHT AS SNOW STARTS EXPECT VISIBILITY PROBLEMS AS WELL. UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT IS WEAK AND WOULD NOT EXPECT ANY INTENSE SNOW SHOWERS SO DO NOT THING FIELD MINIMUMS POSSIBLE AT THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN AIRDROMES. HOWEVER KSUN WILL HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS AND SHOULD SHUT DOWN EARLY TON. FORTUNATELY IT WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST AIRPORTS TO CLEAR DURING THE DAY MON. MESSICK && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 PM MST MONDAY FOR IDZ017-020>022-032. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 PM MST MONDAY FOR IDZ019-023>025. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST MONDAY FOR IDZ018-031. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 418 AM MST SUN DEC 23 2007 IDZ017>025-031-032-241130- 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- 418 AM MST SUN DEC 23 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE THRU EASTERN SNAKE VALLEY AND SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING PRODUCING SPOTTY AREAS OF VERY LIGHT SNOW UNTIL MIDDAY. BRIEF PERIOD OF DECREASED CLOUD COVER AND DRY CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE NEXT STORM SYSTEM REACHES CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS MODERATE. POTENT WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL PUSH INTO CENTRAL AND EASTERN IDAHO ON MONDAY...SPREADING MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE DAY. CURRENT FORECAST CALLS FOR 2 TO 4 INCHES IN SNAKE VALLEY AND 6 TO 10 INCHES IN MOUNTAIN AREAS WITH GUSTY WINDS CAUSING LOCALIZED BLOWING/DRIFTING AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES. HOLIDAY TRAVELERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. CHRISTMAS DAY LOOKS PARTLY CLOUDY WITH NO SNOW EXPECTED EXCEPT FOR A FEW SNOWSHOWERS ALONG WY/ID BORDER. PARADE OF UNSETTLED WEATHER CONTINUES THRU NEXT WEEK WITH ADDITIONAL STORM SYSTEMS ARRIVING ON WED/FRI/SUN WITH EACH BRINGING CHANCE FOR LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL. .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.
3 heavy snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Freezing rain began falling with snow shortly after midnight and created icy roads. Highway 75 near Shoshone was closed due to an accident with a semi.
Eleven inches of snow fell at the Howell Canyon and Magic Mountain SNOTEL sites.
Nine inches of snow fell at the Lost Wood Divide SNOTEL site.
Heavy snow fell in the Idaho Falls area. Eight inches were reported in Rigby and six inches fell in Ucon.
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, December 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: 72727, 72733, 72734, 72729.