Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 29, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 29, 2008
Start: 2008-12-29T07:00
End: 2008-12-29T17:00
Location: Idaho

December 29, 2008 · NWS OTX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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 quick but intense low pressure system brought heavy snow to the North Idaho Panhandle and the Coeur D'Alene area. Hauser, Spirit Lake, Athol, and Sandpoint were hardest hit where snow accumulations ranged from nine inches to a foot. Snow from this event contributed to a couple roof collapses in the Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene areas. Several boats at a marina in Coeur d'Alene were also damaged when a section of a roof collapsed from the weight of the snow.

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 29, 6:10 AM PST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 29, 6:10 AM PST, 50 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 29, 6:09 AM PST, 51 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
609 AM PST MON DEC 29 2008

IDZ026-WAZ032-034-041-043-044-301500-
LEWISTON AREA-LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-MOSES LAKE AREA-
WENATCHEE AREA-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU-
609 AM PST MON DEC 29 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TODAY IN THE OMAK...WENATCHEE...
WATERVILLE...AND WINCHESTER AREAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A QUICK MOVING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW TO THE REGION TUESDAY
NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. MOUNTAIN VALLEYS WILL RECEIVE 4-8 INCHES WITH
8-12 INCHES POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS. ALTHOUGH LIGHT SNOW IS
EXPECTED FOR BASIN...SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN 3 INCHES
OR LESS. THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY WINDS.
ANOTHER STORM...POSSIBLY STRONGER WILL IMPACT THE REGION IN A SIMILAR
FASHION THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE CAPABLE OF
HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS.

IDZ001>004-027-WAZ031-033-035>038-042-301500-
NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-
CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-
NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-
SPOKANE AREA-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-
EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-
609 AM PST MON DEC 29 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

HEAVY SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES TODAY OVER THE
MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN IDAHO TODAY.
SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED OVER THE SPOKANE
AREA...AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF THE PALOUSE...AND UPPER COLUMBIA
BASIN. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND BRING
THE POTENTIAL FOR BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...MAINLY OVER THE
PALOUSE...WEST PLAINS...AND NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A QUICK MOVING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW TO THE REGION TUESDAY
NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. MOUNTAIN VALLEYS WILL RECEIVE 4-8 INCHES WITH
8-12 INCHES POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS. ALTHOUGH LIGHT SNOW IS
EXPECTED FOR BASIN...SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN 3 INCHES
OR LESS. THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY WINDS.
ANOTHER STORM...POSSIBLY STRONGER WILL IMPACT THE REGION IN A SIMILAR
FASHION THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE CAPABLE OF
HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Coeur D'Alene Area

When: December 29, 7:00 AM PST to 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, Northern Panhandle

When: December 29, 8:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Panhandle forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.247, -116.588 (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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 141333, 141332.