On February 5 and 6, a winter storm moved across North Central Idaho bringing heavy snow to the mountains and blizzard conditions to the Camas Prairie.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 MSO wrote it up.
On February 5 and 6, a winter storm moved across North Central Idaho bringing heavy snow to the mountains and blizzard conditions to the Camas Prairie.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 5, 3:04 AM PST, 5 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
404 AM MST TUE FEB 5 2008
.DISCUSSION...A WARM FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG PACIFIC STORM
SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA
TODAY. THIS WILL USHER PRECIPITATION INTO THE REGION AND TIGHTEN
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AHEAD OF AN UPCOMING COLD FRONT. THE
COLD FRONT SHOULD BEGIN MOVING INTO THE REGION THIS EVENING.
PRECIPITATION AND WIND ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING
HAZARDOUS WEATHER TO THE REGION...AND MANY HIGHLIGHTS HAVE BEEN
ISSUED. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO AND GTFNPWMSO FOR MORE DETAILS.
VALLEY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO RELAX AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES OUT OF
THE REGION WEDNESDAY. POST FRONTAL SHOWERS WILL BRING ADDITIONAL
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
HIGHEST ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.
ANOTHER PUSH OF WARM MOIST AIR ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL BRING
SNOW TO NORTHERN IDAHO. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE ALONG WITH
ISENTROPIC LIFT SPREADS THE POTENTIAL OF SNOW EAST ON THURSDAY
WITH THE VALLEYS OF NORTHWEST MONTANA POTENTIALLY SEEING SOME
ACCUMULATIONS. SOME WARMER AIR MOVING IN MAY CAUSE A LITTLE RAIN
TO MIX WITH THE SNOW THURSDAY AFTERNOON OVER CENTRAL IDAHO. A
TIGHT SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL KEEP WINDS RATHER STRONG
THROUGH THE EVENT. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN
WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED FOR POTENTIAL HIGHLIGHTS.
WARM AIR CONTINUES TO MOVE IN FROM THE WEST THIS WEEKEND. MODELS
ARE INCONSISTENT WITH HOW THIS AIRMASS WILL INTERACT WITH A COLD
ARCTIC EAST OF THE DIVIDE. LATEST MODEL RUNS SHOW THIS NOT BEING
MUCH OF AN IMPACT AND BRING AN ARCTIC PUSH SLIGHTLY INTO WESTERN
MONTANA. DUE TO MODEL INCONSISTENCIES...HAVE NOT CHANGED FORECAST
PAST FRIDAY BUT WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE COLDER AIR.
&&
.AVIATION...CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES IN SNOW WILL BE REDUCED AS A
PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM BEGINS TO INFLUENCE THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
TODAY. POOR FLIGHT CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM MST
WEDNESDAY FOR LOWER CLARK FORK REGION.
SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM
MST WEDNESDAY FOR WEST GLACIER REGION.
SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM
MST WEDNESDAY FOR KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 AM MST
WEDNESDAY FOR BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS.
ID...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM PST
WEDNESDAY FOR NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST THIS
EVENING FOR OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 PM PST THIS EVENING
FOR LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER REGION.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 AM PST
WEDNESDAY FOR SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
&&
SHORT TERM/AVIATION...STEGEMILLER
LONG TERM...LOEFFELBEINHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 318 AM MST TUE FEB 5 2008 IDZ005>008-MTZ001-002-004-006-052230- NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS- OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER REGION- KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-WEST GLACIER REGION- LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS- 318 AM MST TUE FEB 5 2008 /218 AM PST TUE FEB 5 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHWEST MONTANA AND WEST CENTRAL MONTANA. FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON WATCHES...WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES...GO TO WEATHER.GOV/MISSOULA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT MODERATE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AS A PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA. TRAVEL WILL BE IMPACTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY PERSISTENT ATMOSPHERIC LIFT WILL BRING STEADY SNOW TO MUCH OF THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. HIGHLIGHT PRODUCTS MAY BE EXTENDED FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS DUE TO THIS...OR ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS MAY BE NEEDED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ009-010-MTZ003-005-007-043-052230- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY- FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS-MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS- BUTTE/BLACKFOOT REGION-POTOMAC/SEELEY LAKE REGION- 318 AM MST TUE FEB 5 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHWEST MONTANA AND WEST CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL PRODUCE LOCALIZED LIGHT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS LATER TODAY AND INCREASING TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ANOTHER PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HEAVY SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM AS PERSISTENT ATMOSPHERIC LIFT WILL BRING STEADY SNOW TO MUCH OF THE NORTHERN ROCKIES INTO THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. HIGHLIGHT PRODUCTS MAY BE NEEDED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 blizzard, 1 winter storm, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
The Idaho Department of Transportation reported blizzard conditions across the Camas Prairie. Highway 95 was closed due to significant blowing and drifting snow.
A COOP observer in Dixie reported 10 inches of new snow. The automated weather station at Lolo Pass reported 8 inches of new snow. In addition, wind gusts between 29 mph and 50 mph were reported nearby.
Clearwater Tribune reported that the Idaho State Patrol closed US Highway 95 from mile post 223-259 due to a snow avalanche on Whitebird Hill and blizzard conditions.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, February 2008
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: 68841, 68853, 74176.