Name: Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 8 to 9, 2008
Start: 2008-01-08T10:00
End: 2008-01-09T11:00
Location: Idaho

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 followed by the passage of an upper level low resulted in heavy snow across north Idaho. Most snow accumulations ranged from five to nine inches. Some reported amounts include: 9.5 inches five miles north of Moscow, eight inches near Spirit Lake and Athol, five inches in the Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry areas, five inches in Coeur D'Alene, and four to six inches in the Kellogg and St. Maries areas. Over 1,000 customers lost power in the Coeur D'Alene area from falling debris onto power lines.

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 Jan 8, 4:58 AM PST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 8, 4:58 AM PST, 5 hours 2 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 8, 5:06 AM PST, 4 hours 54 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
506 AM PST TUE JAN 8 2008

IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-091315-
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-
MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA-
NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA-
EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU-
506 AM PST TUE JAN 8 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THE NEXT PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD STEADY SNOW OVER THE
REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY AND
INTENSIFY TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM SYSTEM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A SERIES OF WINTER STORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE INLAND NORTHWEST
THIS WEEK. HEAVY SNOW WILL TAPER OFF WEDNESDAY MORNING ACROSS
EXTREME EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO. THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM
WILL ARRIVE LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY WITH THE POTENTIAL
FOR MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW ACROSS THE REGION. ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF SNOW
ARE POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.

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: January 8, 10:00 AM PST to January 9, 11:00 AM PST
Where: Northern Panhandle forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 48.247, -116.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coeur D'Alene Area

When: January 8, 10:00 AM PST to January 9, 11:00 AM 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: January 8, 10:00 AM PST to January 9, 11:00 AM 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: January 8, 10:00 AM PST to January 9, 11:00 AM PST
Where: Central Panhandle Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
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

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, January 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: 74691, 74692, 74693, 74694.