Heavy Snow, Northern Panhandle
- When
- November 7, 10:00 AM PST to November 8, 4:00 AM PST
- Where
- Northern Panhandle forecast zone
- Reported by
- SNOTEL
- Coordinates
- 48.247, -116.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Idaho, November 7 to 8, 2009
A deep area of low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska sent a pair of weather disturbances into North Idaho. This in combination with deep instability led to heavy snow in the North Idaho Panhandle Mountains, with the Hidden Lake Snotel picking up eight inches of snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 deep area of low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska sent a pair of weather disturbances into North Idaho. This in combination with deep instability led to heavy snow in the North Idaho Panhandle Mountains, with the Hidden Lake Snotel picking up eight inches of 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 Nov 7, 8:31 AM PST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Nov 7, 8:31 AM PST, 1 hour 29 minutes before
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</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 6, 4:00 PM PST, 18 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 400 PM PST FRI NOV 6 2009 IDZ001-004-WAZ037-042-080000- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES- 400 PM PST FRI NOV 6 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO... NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THOUGH MOUNTAIN SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIKELY TONIGHT ABOVE 4000 FEET...THE HEAVIEST SNOWS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. SEE BELOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WEEKEND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AROUND A FOOT WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE IDAHO PANHANDLE AND NORTHEAST WASHINGTON ABOVE 4000 FEET. FOR THE CASCADES...HEAVY ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED NEAR THE CASCADE CREST ABOVE 3000 FEET. THIS INCLUDES THE MAJOR PASSES. IDZ002-003-026-027-WAZ031>036-038-041-043-044-080000- COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-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- OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA-OKANOGAN VALLEY- WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 400 PM PST FRI NOV 6 2009 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...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, November 2009
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: 200181.