Idaho, 2008

Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 21 to 22, 2008

December 21 to 22, 2008 · NWS BOI · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

An intense winter storm pushed into Southwest Idaho December 21st and 22nd bringing heavy snow including areas of blowing and drifting snow to most locations including the lower valleys.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
6

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.

An intense winter storm pushed into Southwest Idaho December 21st and 22nd bringing heavy snow including areas of blowing and drifting snow to most locations including the lower valleys.

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 21, 2:35 PM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 21, 2:35 PM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 21, 3:20 PM MST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, West Central Mountains

When
December 21, 5:00 PM MST to December 22, 5:00 AM 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)

Trained spotters reported anywhere from six inches of snow at McCall to fourteen inches at Yellow Pine.

Heavy Snow, Boise Mountains

When
December 21, 5:00 PM MST to December 22, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Boise Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.602, -115.335 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained spotters reported nine inches of snow at Idaho City and Atlanta to nearly fourteen inches at Pine.

Heavy Snow, Camas Prairie

When
December 21, 6:00 PM MST to December 22, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Camas Prairie forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.409, -115.137 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained spotters reported ten to twelve inches of snow with significant drifting at Fairfield and Blaine.

Heavy Snow, Upper Treasure Valley

When
December 21, 10:00 PM MST to December 22, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Upper Treasure Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.129, -115.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Most locations in the Treasure Valley including Boise and Meridian received four to five inches of snow. Considerable blowing and drifting of snow was reported around the valley by spotters and local law enforcement.

Heavy Snow, Lower Treasure Valley

When
December 21, 10:00 PM MST to December 22, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Lower Treasure Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.746, -116.564 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Most locations in the Lower Treasure Valley including Weiser and Payette received four to seven inches of snow. Considerable blowing and drifting of snow was reported around the valley by spotters and local law enforcement.

Heavy Snow, Western Magic Valley

When
December 21, 10:00 PM MST to December 22, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Western Magic Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.672, -114.581 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained spotters reported four to six inches of snow with significant blowing and drifting from Gooding to Jerome.

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

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2008

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 147837, 147838, 147839, 147832, 147834, 147840.