The second part of the huge storm that hit Eastern Oregon and Southwest Idaho left another 12 to 18 inches of new snow across the region with 2 day totals of over 2 feet in some locations.
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 BOI wrote it up.
The second part of the huge storm that hit Eastern Oregon and Southwest Idaho left another 12 to 18 inches of new snow across the region with 2 day totals of over 2 feet in some locations.
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 Boise, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 28, 9:10 AM MST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
910 AM MST TUE DEC 28 2010
.DISCUSSION...PROLONGED WINTER STORM OFF TO A QUICK START WITH
SEVERAL LOCATIONS FROM BAKER COUNTY INTO THE WEST CENTRAL
MOUNTAINS ALREADY AROUND A FOOT OF SNOW THIS MORNING. THOUGH
SEEING SNOW BELOW 4000 FEET THIS MORNING TEMPERATURES ARE ABOVE
FREEZING MAKING FOR WET CONDITIONS. SNOW CHANGES TO RAIN BY THIS
AFTERNOON BELOW 4000 FEET WITH ALL SNOW ABOVE 5000 FEET AND A MIX
IN BETWEEN. EXCEPTION COULD BE SHELTERED WEISER RIVER VALLEY AND
VALLEYS IN BAKER COUNTY INCLUDING HALFWAY WHICH COULD STAY ALL
SNOW. PERIODS OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY
OVER LOWER VALLEYS WITH A STEADY SNOW CONTINUING IN THE MTNS.
LITTLE CHANGE TO FIRST PERIOD FORECAST EXCEPT FOR MORNING
PRECIPITATION TYPE IN LOWER VALLEYS. WILL BE ACCESSING SNOW
ACCUMULATION POTENTIAL IN TREASURE VALLEY FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING
AND ADJUSTING ACCUMULATION AMOUNTS IN OTHER PRODUCTS FOR THE
AFTERNOON PACKAGE.
&&
.AVIATION...WIDESPREAD IFR /AND ISOLATED MVFR/ IN SNOW AND RAIN.
SNOW LEVELS APPROXIMATELY 3500 FT THROUGH THE AFTERNOON WITH
KBOI...KEUL AND KONO EXPECTED TO REMAIN MVFR IN -RASN AND -RA
THROUGH 00Z. MOUNTAINS WILL BE OBSCURED. LIGHT TO MODERATE SE TO SW
SURFACE WINDS WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 25 KTS. MODERATE WESTERLY WINDS
ALOFT.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...
SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WARM SECTOR PROMPTED THE
CANCELLATION OF WINTER HEADLINES ACROSS THE JORDAN AND LOWER
TREASURE VALLEYS. SOME SNOW EARLY THIS MORNING WITH TEMPS ABOVE
FREEZING. LEFT THE WATCH UP FOR THE UPPER TREASURE VALLEY DUE TO
UNCERTAINTY. SNOW HAS ALREADY BEGUN MANY AREAS SO MOVED UP THE
START TIME ON SOME WINTER HEADLINES. RADAR ECHOES HAVE FILLED IN
WITH MOSTLY SNOW ACROSS SOUTHEAST OREGON /BAKER TO BURNS TO
ONTARIO/ AND ACROSS MOST OF SW IDAHO EXCEPT MOUNTAIN HOME
EASTWARD. A BUBBLE OF ABOVE FREEZING TEMPERATURES 36-38F WAS
CENTERED FROM ONTARIO TO BOISE THIS MORNING SO PRECIPITATION COULD
BE A BRIEF WINTRY MIX BEFORE ALL RAIN THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. A WARM
SECTOR WILL CROSS MALHEUR COUNTY AND TREASURE VALLEY THIS
AFTERNOON FOR SNOW LEVELS 3500-4500 FEET FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH
EARLY EVENING. MUCH OF SW IDAHO WILL HAVE STEADY TEMPERATURES
OVERNIGHT THEN SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP BACK TO VALLEY FLOORS
WEDNESDAY MORNING AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. THE COLD FRONT
WILL BE IN CENTRAL OREGON EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND HAS PRESSURE
FALLS AHEAD OF IT OF -6MBS/3HRS AND BEHIND IT OF +6MB/3HRS AT 12Z
FOR A BURST OF HIGH WINDS...30-50MPH OR POSSIBLY EVEN 60 MPH. A
BRIEF BURST OF HEAVY SNOW TO VALLEY FLOORS IS ALSO POSSIBLE.
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED EARLY WEDNESDAY IN
GOODING/FAIRFIELD AND EVEN TOWARDS JEROME LEFT BLIZZARD WARNING UP
FOR THE CAMAS PRAIRIE. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED THERE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING AS WELL SO HOISTED A WINTER STORM WARNING AHEAD OF THE
BLIZZARD. MUCH COOLER WITH MANY VERY WINDY SPOTS WEDNESDAY WITH
NON - DIURNAL TEMPERATURES FALLING OR STEADY ACROSS SE OREGON AND
SW IDAHO.
LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...SNOW SHOWERS WILL
TAPER OFF FROM THE WEST WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS AN UPPER
LEVEL LOW MOVES SOUTHEAST INTO UTAH. AS NORTHERLY FLOW DEVELOPS
OVER THE AREA BEHIND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO
THE TEENS AND SINGLE DIGITS BY THURSDAY MORNING AS COLD AIR MOVES
SOUTH FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA. HOWEVER...LIGHT TO MODERATE SURFACE
WINDS AND CLOUD COVER WILL HELP KEEP TEMPERATURES ABOVE ZERO. HIGH
TEMPERATURES THURSDAY AFTERNOON WILL BE IN THE TEENS AND 20S. WINDS
AND CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE DECREASE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY WITH
LOW TEMPERATURES FRIDAY MORNING BELOW ZERO ACROSS HIGHER ELEVATIONS
AND THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE ZERO IN LOWER VALLEYS. HIGH
TEMPERATURES FRIDAY WILL BE MAINLY IN THE TEENS. TEMPERATURES WILL
MODERATE SEVERAL DEGREES SATURDAY AS A SHORT WAVE RIDGE BUILDS OVER
THE AREA.
MODELS STILL HAVE DIFFERENCES SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AS GFS HAS
OVERRUNNING PRECIP AND ECMWF IS MAINLY DRY KEEPING A LOW OFF THE
COAST SO KEPT POPS AND TEMPS NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW CLIMO.
&&
.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST WEDNESDAY IDZ033.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST
WEDNESDAY IDZ015-030.
WINTER STORM WATCH FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING
IDZ014.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST
WEDNESDAY IDZ016.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST WEDNESDAY IDZ011.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST WEDNESDAY IDZ013.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM MST
WEDNESDAY IDZ029.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING IDZ028.
BLIZZARD WARNING FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST WEDNESDAY
IDZ028.
OR...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY ORZ061.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY ORZ062.
&&
WEATHER.GOV/BOISE
DISCUSSION...DG
AVIATION.....MT
PREV SHORT TERM...VM
PREV LONG TERM....JA/DD<!doctype html>
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Cooperative observers from Cascade and McCall reported 12 and 11 inches while spotters and SNOTELS reported 14 to 24 inches.
Cooperative observers from Centerville and Idaho City reported 21 and 17 inches while spotters and SNOTELS reported 15 to 20 inches.
A spotter near Fairfield reported 10 inches while a spotter in Corral reported 19 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2010
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: 274280, 274278, 274281.