Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 26 to 28, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 26 to 28, 2008
Start: 2008-12-26T21:00
End: 2008-12-28T14:00
Location: Idaho

December 26 to 28, 2008 · NWS OTX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A strong warm front brought heavy snow to much of north Idaho. Heavy snow load on roof tops in Coeur D'Alene began to cause problems.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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 OTX wrote it up.

A strong warm front brought heavy snow to much of north Idaho. Heavy snow load on roof tops in Coeur D'Alene began to cause problems. An awning above a business fell onto a sidewalk. A flat sunroof of a home also had a partial roof collapse. The additional snowfall also contributed to several power outages resulting from trees falling onto power lines, mostly south of Lake Coeur D'Alene. The snow also led to several slide-offs on U.S. Highway 95 between Moscow and Lewiston. Storm total snow accumulations ranged mostly from five to nine inches, except for around a foot of accumulation in the Sandpoint, Coeur D'Alene, and St. Maries areas.

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 26, 7:09 PM PST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 26, 7:09 PM PST, 1 hour 51 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 26, 1:58 PM PST, 7 hours 2 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
158 PM PST FRI DEC 26 2008

WAZ034-035-038-041-043-044-272200-
MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-
WENATCHEE AREA-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU-
158 PM PST FRI DEC 26 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND NORTH CENTRAL
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO CENTRAL AND EASTERN WASHINGTON THIS EVENING
AND LINGER INTO SATURDAY MORNING. SNOW AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES
WILL BE COMMON FROM OMAK...TO WENATCHEE...TO MOSES LAKE...TO
RITZVILLE ALONG WITH A POSSIBILITY OF A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING
RAIN SATURDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

A STORMY WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED THIS WEEK. SEVERAL ROUNDS OF RAIN
AND SNOW ARE EXPECTED. A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED
SATURDAY. AT THIS TIME...CHANCES ARE LOW THAT WIDESPREAD HEAVY
SNOW WILL OCCUR IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN...THE OKANOGAN VALLEY... OR
THE WENATCHEE AREA THIS WEEK.

IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>033-036-037-272200-
NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-
CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA-
LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-
LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-
SPOKANE AREA-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-
158 PM PST FRI DEC 26 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO...
NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN IDAHO
TONIGHT. THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES AND CONTINUE INTO
SATURDAY. A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED SATURDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED
OVER THE PALOUSE...THE SPOKANE AREA...OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF
NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND THE MOUNTAINS OF THE IDAHO PANHANDLE. A
BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY
NIGHT.

THE STORMY WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEKEND. SEVERAL FEET OF SNOW ARE LIKELY BY THE END OF THE WEEK IN
THE MOUNTAINS.

WAZ042-272200-
EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-
158 PM PST FRI DEC 26 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SNOW WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING OVER THE EAST SLOPES OF THE
CASCADES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED BY SATURDAY. PRECIPITATION
MAY MIX TO SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN ON SATURDAY IN THE VALLEYS
AROUND LEAVENWORTH AND LAKE CHELAN.

THE STORMY WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEKEND. SEVERAL FEET OF SNOW ARE LIKELY BY THE END OF THE WEEK IN
THE MOUNTAINS.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Panhandle

When: December 26, 9:00 PM PST to December 28, 11:00 AM PST
Where: Northern Panhandle forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.247, -116.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coeur D'Alene Area

When: December 26, 9:00 PM PST to December 27, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Coeur D'Alene Area forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.675, -116.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Idaho Palouse

When: December 26, 11:00 PM PST to December 27, 1:00 PM PST
Where: Idaho Palouse forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.017, -116.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Central Panhandle Mountains

When: December 26, 11:00 PM PST to December 28, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Central Panhandle Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 47.265, -116.491 (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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 141325, 141326, 141327, 141328.