Heavy snow fell above 6,000 feet in the South Central Highlands. 10 inches fell at Howell Canyon with 9 inches at Bostetter Ranger Station and 11 inches at Magic Mountain.
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 PIH wrote it up.
Heavy snow fell above 6,000 feet in the South Central Highlands. 10 inches fell at Howell Canyon with 9 inches at Bostetter Ranger Station and 11 inches at Magic Mountain.
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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 10, 1:18 PM MST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 218 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 .SHORT TERM...A CLOSED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS MOVING INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA THIS AFTERNOON. THE GFS TRACK WAS PREFER ED SLIGHTLY OVER THE NAM TRACKING THIS LOW ACROSS CENTRAL NEVADA AND UTAH NEAR TUESDAY MORNING AND THEN LIFTING IT NORTHEAST ON WEDNESDAY. BOTH MODELS SUGGEST A GOOD DEAL OF MOISTURE...PERHAPS A HALF INCH LIQUID WATER EQUIVALENT TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY WITH FOCUS IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL AND CARIBOU HIGHLANDS. WRAP AROUND MOISTURE WILL EXTEND INTO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AS WELL. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN NORTHEAST NEVADA AND EXPECT SOME OF THIS CONVECTION WILL PROGRESS INTO THE EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY AND SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS THIS EVENING. MODELS SHOW DIFFERENCES IN SNOW LEVEL...THE NAM DROPPING SNOW LEVELS AT IDAHO FALLS TO THE VALLEY FLOOR TUESDAY MORNING. THE 18Z RUN OF THE NAM HAS ADJUSTED THIS CLOSER TO ABOUT 6000 FT AGL...MUCH MORE ACCEPTABLE. THE CONVECTIVE ELEMENT TONIGHT LEAVES PLENTY OF ROOM FOR WIDE SWINGS IN MODEL QPF AND POTENTIAL SNOW ACCUMULATION AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS. SNOW AMOUNTS WERE INCREASED SLIGHTLY ON THE HIGHER PEAKS IN CASSIA COUNTY OVER TO THE NORTHERN WASATCH. OTHERWISE...HAVE STAYED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND PRETTY CLOSE TO THE 3 TO 6...MAYBE 7 INCHES IN THE CURRENT WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. BOTH THE GFS AND NAM DEVELOP A SURFACE LOW IN UTAH EARLY TUESDAY WITH AND INVERTED TROUGH EXTENDING NORTHWARD BETWEEN POCATELLO AND BURLEY...AND A SLOW PIVOT TO THE WEST. GENERALLY CATEGORICAL PRECIPITATION EXPECTED IN MUCH OF THIS AREA TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. DAY TIME WEDNESDAY WRAP AROUND MOISTURE WILL KEEP SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER SOUTHEAST IDAHO AS THE LOW MOVES TOWARDS SOUTH DAKOTA INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SHOWERS MAY WELL LINGER I THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS THURSDAY MORNING. RS .LONG TERM...THU THROUGH NEXT MON NIGHT. UPPER LEVEL LOW CONTINUES ITS EASTWARD TREK AND FINALLY CLEARS THE GREAT BASIN FRI. SOME INSTABILITY MEANS MOSTLY MOUNTAIN BASED SHOWER ACTIVITY ON FRI AFTERNOON. QUITE A BIT OF DISCREPANCY AMONG PRODUCT SUITES AFTER THIS TIME SO DID NOT ADJUST GRIDS BEYOND. ECMWF BRINGS IN ANOTHER SHORTWAVE ON SAT WHILE GFS IS DRY UNTIL THE LAST 24 HOURS. MUCH DRIER AND WARMER THAN SHORT TERM WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS REACHING ABOVE SEASONAL NORMALS BY SAT. MESSICK && .AVIATION...CEILING AND SHOWERS EXPECTED TONIGHT AS LOW MOVES INTO UTAH. NORTHERLY FLOW WILL DEVELOP UPSLOPE MAINLY AT KBYI AND KPIH AND EXPECT WORST CEILING AT KBYI. HOWEVER...THERE IS ENOUGH MOISTURE THAT EVEN KIDA IS NOT IMMUNE TO IFR TONIGHT. EXPECT KSUN TO CLOSE EARLY AS THE SOUTHERLY AND EASTERLY FLOW AHEAD OF THE LOW BRINGS IN THE MOISTURE...HOWEVER THEY SHOULD PARTIALLY CLEAR TUE MORNING AS THE AIRDROME OPENS WITH NORTHERLY FLOW DRYING OUT THE BOUNDARY LAYER THERE. MAIN CONCERN IS COLD TEMPERATURES HELPING TO BRING SNOW TO THIS ELEVATION IN THE MORNING. THE OTHER FORECAST PROBLEM IS THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MON AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EXPECT ONLY ISOLATED CONDITIONS BUT STRIKES ALREADY OCCURRING ALONG A BOUNDARY JUST TO THE WEST THAT IS MOVING EASTWARD. HAVE ADDED VCTS TO FORECASTS....AND EVEN A TEMPO GROUP TO KIDA WHERE INSTABILITY IS GREATEST AND SUNSHINE HAS GREATEST EFFECT. MESSICK && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM MDT TUESDAY ABOVE 7000 FEET FOR THE IDZ018-031-032. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM MDT TUESDAY ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR THE IDZ022-023-025. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 555 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 IDZ017>025-031-032-111200- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY-SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS-UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS- UPPER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN-LOWER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN- SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-CARIBOU HIGHLANDS- CACHE VALLEY/IDAHO PORTION-WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION- BIG AND LITTLE WOOD RIVER REGION-LOST RIVER/PAHSIMEROI- 555 AM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL START IMPACTING THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THIS NEXT SYSTEM. EXPECT WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION AND COLDER AIR BY TONIGHT. EXPECT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 T0 4 INCHES AS LOW AS 5000 FT ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST HIGHLANDS THROUGH TUESDAY. EXPECT 4 TO 8 INCHES ACROSS HIGHER ELEVATIONS IMPACTING MOUNTAIN PASSES ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST HIGHLANDS THROUGH TUESDAY. RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 1/4 TO 3/4 OF AN INCH ARE POSSIBLE IN LOWER ELEVATIONS ACROSS SOUTHEAST IDAHO WITH THIS SYSTEM. EXPECT 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW AS LOW AS 5000 FT ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS. HIGHER ELEVATIONS WILL SEE 3 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WIDESPREAD RAIN AND SNOW FALL WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY. EXPECT THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS ACROSS THE SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS...WASATCH MOUNTAINS AND THE CARIBOU HIGHLANDS. SCATTERED PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE REST OF SOUTHEAST IDAHO THROUGH THE DAY TUESDAY. EXPECT GRADUAL WARMING AND CLEARING CONDITIONS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WE ASK TRAINED SPOTTERS AND CITIZENS TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. THESE CONDITIONS MAY INCLUDE HAIL...TORNADOES...STRONG WIND...DUST STORMS...SNOWFALL... EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURES...FREEZING RAIN OR HEAVY RAIN...DENSE FOG...AND FLOODING OR ICE JAMS. INFORMATION ABOUT THESE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS SHOULD BE CALLED INTO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN POCATELLO USING THE 1-800 SEVERE WEATHER HOTLINE...OR 208-233-0834.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO 342 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 IDZ021-102230- BINGHAM ID-POWER ID-BANNOCK ID- 342 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN POCATELLO HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR... EXTREME NORTHWESTERN BANNOCK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO CENTRAL POWER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO SOUTHWESTERN BINGHAM COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO UNTIL 430 PM MDT AT 336 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES WEST OF AMERICAN FALLS..MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... ABERDEEN... SPRINGFIELD... LAT...LON 4323 11293 4310 11253 4272 11288 4279 11310 TIME...MOT...LOC 2142Z 205DEG 20KT 4284 11294 !HUSTON!
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO 432 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 IDZ020-021-102315- BUTTE ID-BONNEVILLE ID-BINGHAM ID- 432 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN POCATELLO HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR... EAST CENTRAL BUTTE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL IDAHO WESTERN BINGHAM COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO WEST CENTRAL BONNEVILLE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO UNTIL 515 PM MDT AT 424 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF SPRINGFIELD..MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... TABER... ATOMIC CITY... LAT...LON 4362 11285 4353 11237 4304 11272 4308 11296 TIME...MOT...LOC 2232Z 199DEG 24KT 4319 11278 !HUSTON!
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO
434 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010
IDZ022-102315-
ONEIDA ID-POWER ID-CASSIA ID-
434 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN POCATELLO HAS ISSUED A
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR...
SOUTHEASTERN CASSIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO
SOUTH CENTRAL POWER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO
WESTERN ONEIDA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO
UNTIL 515 PM MDT
AT 430 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR BLACK PINE..MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.
WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH
BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
RURAL SOUTHWESTERN ONEIDA COUNTY...
RURAL SOUTHEASTERN CASSIA COUNTY...
RURAL WESTERN ONEIDA COUNTY...
RURAL EASTERN CASSIA COUNTY...
RURAL SOUTHERN POWER COUNTY...
LAT...LON 4200 11310 4250 11292 4239 11257 4199 11284
4199 11305
TIME...MOT...LOC 2234Z 199DEG 24KT 4206 11294
!HUSTON!SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO 438 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 IDZ017-021-022-102315- BLAINE ID-POWER ID-CASSIA ID- 438 PM MDT MON MAY 10 2010 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN POCATELLO HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR... SOUTHEASTERN BLAINE COUNTY IN CENTRAL IDAHO NORTHEASTERN CASSIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO WEST CENTRAL POWER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO UNTIL 515 PM MDT AT 430 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR IDAHOME..MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... HEGLAR... COLD WATER... INTERSTATE 86 FROM YALE THROUGH MASSACRE ROCKS... LAT...LON 4289 11322 4270 11284 4237 11325 4246 11346 TIME...MOT...LOC 2236Z 212DEG 19KT 4249 11329 !HUSTON!
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow fell above 6,000 feet. 10 inches fell at Howell Canyon with 9 inches at Bostetter Ranger Station and 11 inches at Magic Mountain.
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, May 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: 231983.