A moist Pacific weather system brought heavy rain fall to portions of north central Idaho. Precipitation amounts up to four inches fell in 24 to 48 hours.
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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.
A moist Pacific weather system brought heavy rain fall to portions of north central Idaho. Precipitation amounts up to four inches fell in 24 to 48 hours. This caused significant rises in area creeks, streams and rivers. Numerous road wash outs were reported across area highways.
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 Jun 3, 5:15 AM PST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 715 AM MDT THU JUN 3 2010 ...WET AND COOL CONDITIONS TO FINISH OUT THE WEEK ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION... .DISCUSSION...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS BUILDING OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION BEHIND THE EXITING WEATHER SYSTEM. THIS WILL BRING A BRIEF DRYING AND SLIGHT WARMING TREND TO MOST OF THE REGION TODAY. WEDNESDAY NIGHTS WEATHER SYSTEM BROUGHT WIDESPREAD RAIN TO THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION WITH LOCALLY HEAVY AMOUNTS ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO. THE LITTLE SALMON RIVER AT RIGGINS AND THE BASINS THAT FEED INTO IT FROM ADAMS COUNTY RECEIVED BETWEEN 1.5 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. AS A RESULT THE LITTLE SALMON AT RIGGINS IS RISING AND IS EXPECTED TO REACH AND SURPASS FLOOD STAGE THIS MORNING. A FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED...PLEASE SEE HYDROLOGY SECTION BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. THE NEXT WAVE ROTATING AROUND THE PARENT GULF OF ALASKA LOW WILL BEGIN TO INFLUENCE THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION LATE TONIGHT AS CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION INCREASE AGAIN FROM THE WEST. FRIDAY IS SETTING UP TO BE SIMILAR TO WEDNESDAY. A FETCH OF MOISTURE STRETCHES FROM THE PARENT LOW BACK ACROSS THE ENTIRE PACIFIC OCEAN. THIS NEXT WAVE IS INDICATING PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES 150-200 PERCENT OF NORMAL...MEANING ANOTHER VERY WET WEATHER SYSTEM. THE MAJORITY OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL ONCE AGAIN FALL AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...RESULTING IN STEADY LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY EVENING. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ARE LOOKING VERY SIMILAR TO VALUES OBSERVED ON WEDNESDAY...WITH MOST OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO SEEING UP TO 1 INCH OF RAIN...AND THE HIGHER TERRAIN EXPECTED TO SEE MORE. WITH THIS NEXT SWATH OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION...ADDITIONAL RISES IN THE SMALL CREEKS AND LARGE STEM RIVERS IS EXPECTED. IN ADDITION TO WIDESPREAD RAINFALL...AN INCREASED SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND AN ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL JET WILL RESULT IN BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS. SURFACE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AHEAD OF AND AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE FRIDAY EVENING AND SATURDAY. INITIAL SOUTH-SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL GIVE WAY TO A MORE WESTERLY DIRECTION WELL BEYOND FRONTAL PASSAGE SATURDAY. PERSONS WITH INTERESTS ON FLATHEAD LAKE WILL WANT TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE LAKE WIND HIGHLIGHTS FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. ANOTHER BRIEF BREAK ANTICIPATED SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE YET ANOTHER WAVE MOVES THROUGH. NEXT WEEK...MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE AN UNSETTLED MAINLY WEST FLOW. NO CHANGES WERE MADE TO GOING FORECAST AS A RESULT. && .AVIATION...SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO DISSIPATE THROUGH 03/1700Z AS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES SEES A SHORT BREAK IN BETWEEN PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEMS. LOWERED CEILINGS AND SOME TERRAIN SHOWERS WILL LINGER...BLOCKING THE TERRAIN FOR PERIODS THOUGH OUT THE MORNING. SURFACE WINDS WILL START TO INCREASE MIDDAY AND LAST THROUGHOUT THE EVENING AS THE GRADIENT REMAINS TIGHTENED BEHIND THE LATEST PASSING SHORTWAVE AND THE UPPER LEVEL JET CONTINUES TO NOSE INTO THE REGION. && .HYDROLOGY...WIDESPREAD RAIN...LOCALLY HEAVY ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO WEDNESDAY EVENING HAVE RESULTED IN SMALL STREAM AND RIVER RISES. A FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE LITTLE SALMON RIVER AT RIGGINS. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT MAY RESULT IN MORE RIVER RISES THIS WEEKEND...PARTICULARLY THOSE IN NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND EXTREME NORTHWEST MONTANA. THE AMOUNT AND FREQUENCY OF PRECIPITATION ANTICIPATED TO OCCUR DURING THE NEXT WEEK HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SMALL STREAMS TO RISE NOTICEABLY AND MAIN STEM RIVERS TO STEADILY RISE. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...NONE. ID...NONE. && SHORT TERM...MEAD/NOLTE LONG TERM....MEAD AVIATION...NOLTE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Little Salmon River washed over Highway 95 south of Riggins. Culvert failure let water and debris flow across Highway 13 near Stites.
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, June 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 242322.