Extremely high winds blew in the Snake River Plain behind the passage of a strong cold front. Interstate 15 was shut down between Idaho Falls and Roberts for over 10 hours due to blowing dust and low visibility.
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.
Extremely high winds blew in the Snake River Plain behind the passage of a strong cold front. Interstate 15 was shut down between Idaho Falls and Roberts for over 10 hours due to blowing dust and low visibility. Wind gusts between 60 and 80 mph were common across the area.
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 3, 1:40 PM MST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 240 PM MDT MON MAY 3 2010 .SHORT TERM...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A 13OKT 250 MB JET DROPPING INTO OREGON AND CENTRAL IDAHO THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SAY THE COLD FRONT HAS NOT MADE MYCALL YET BUT WILL PRETTY SOON. THE 12Z NAM MODEL INCREASED THE POTENTIAL FOR WIND LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT IN THE ARCO DESERT...UPPER SNAKE PLAIN AREA AND THE LOWER SNAKE PLAIN COULD BE INCLUDED. ISENTROPIC CROSS SECTION HAS 55KTS OF WIND JUST BELOW CLOUD LAYER IN THE ARCO AREA NEAR THE TIME OF FRONTAL PASSAGE AT 03Z THIS EVENING AND 700 MB COLD AIR ADVECTION TOPS MINUS 20 C/12HRS. THE LOWER SNAKE PLAIN IS VERY CLOSE TO THE DECISION LINE SO WILL ERROR TOWARDS THE HIGHER VALUE. A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE UPPER AND LOWER SNAKE PLAIN. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL FOCUS MORE FROM 6 PM TO 3AM MDT. AN ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OTHER ZONES IN SOUTHEAST IDAHO. ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY AFTERNOON. SUBSTANTIAL COLD ADVECTION WILL LOWER TEMPERATURES AND SNOW LEVELS. WEB CAMS AT LOST TRAIL PASS ON THE MONTANA BORDER SHOW SNOW FELL THIS MORNING AND THAT RESULTED IN SOME LOWERIN OF SNOW LEVELS. MORNING LOW TEMPERATURES THE NEXT COUPLE OF MORNINGS WILL BE A FEW DEGREES BELOW FREEZING. IF ANYONE HAS BEGUN PLANTING FREEZE SENSITIVE PLANTS...PROTECTION MAY BE NEEDED. MOISTURE IS LIMITED...ONLY 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ON WEST FACING SLOPES IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HIGHLANDS. LARGELY ZONAL WINDY PATTERN TUESDAY GIVES WAY TO A QUICK MOVING CLOSED CIRCULATION THAT IS NOW TAKING SHAPE OFF THE COAST OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. THE GFS TRACKS THE DISTURBANCE RIGHT OVER THE UPPSER SNAKE PLAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WRAP AROUND SNOW SHOWERS WOULD BE FAVORED IN THE MOUNTAIN PASSES...MONIDA...TARGHEE AND REYNOLDS PASS. DRIVING COULD BE TRICKIER ON THE MONTANA SIDE. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH NEXT MONDAY NIGHT. LOW PRESSURE SLOW TO CLEAR WITH CONTINUED PRECIPITATION THREAT...BUT THEN DRY NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WITH VERY WEAK SHORTWAVES REPLACES THE CLOSED LOW. CONTINUED COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES...BUT PRECIP THREAT PRETTY MUCH LIMITED TO MOUNTAINS THROUGH SAT AFTERNOON. AT THIS POINT...PRODUCT SUITES CHANGE BIASES. GFS BECOMES THE WETTER GUIDANCE...BUT BOTH INDICATE TROUGHING AND A RETURN TO PRECIPTATION FOR THE END OF THE MEDIUM RANGE FORECAST PERIOD. GFS AND ECMWF HANDLE THE MAJOR UPPER LEVEL LOW EXPECTED AT THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD DIFFERENTLY...WITH THE GFS BRINGING IT CLOSER TO THE GEM STATE AND THUS WETTER FORECAST. MESSICK && .AVIATION...VFR FOR BOTH CIG AND VSBY EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE LOW ELEVATION AIRPORTS...BUT WITH WIND ACTUALLY INCREASING DURING THE EVENING AS POWERFUL FRONT CROSSES SOUTHERN IDAHO. KSUN WILL LIKELY CLOSE TEMPORARILY THIS EVENING AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH...BUT SHOULD BE BRIEF AS DOWNSLOPE RESUMES. STRONG WIND WILL SHIFT TO NORTHWEST THIS EVENING AND MAY HAMPER OPERATIONS DUE TO CROSSWIND...MAINLY AT KIDA. WIND EXPECTED TO RETURN TUE AFTERNOON...BUT NOT LAST AS LONG AND MAYBE SLIGHTLY LOWER IN STRENGTH. MESSICK && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 AM MDT TUESDAY IDZ020-021. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT TONIGHT IDZ018-019-022-023-025-031-032. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM MDT TUESDAY IDZ017. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 1044 AM MDT MON MAY 3 2010 IDZ017>025-031-032-041200- 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- 1044 AM MDT MON MAY 3 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT AS A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT DROPS ACROSS THE REGION. GUSTS AROUND 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE IN THE ARCO DESERT AREA AND MAY BE OBSERVED AS FAR SOUTH AS POCATELLO. A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED. PLEASE REFER TO BOINPWPIH FOR THE LATEST DETAILS. MOTORISTS SHOULD USE CAUTION WHEN DRIVING HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES TODAY AND TONIGHT. AREA OF BLOWING DUST MAY ALSO CAUSE A REDUCTION IN VISIBILITY AT TIMES. RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS...WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE PRIMARILY IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HIGHLANDS TODAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED VALLEY RAIN SHOWERS AND NUMEROUS MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT AS COLDER AIR ARRIVES IN EASTERN IDAHO. NO SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED WITH THIS FAST-MOVING SYSTEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA ON TUESDAY. GUSTS TO 30 MPH ARE POSSIBLE...WITH UP TO 50 MPH EXPECTED IN THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN. WINDS WILL DIMINISH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. .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.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO
339 PM MDT MON MAY 03 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0150 PM DUST STORM ROBERTS 43.72N 112.13W
05/03/2010 JEFFERSON ID DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
ITD HAS SHUT DOWN I-15 FROM MM 119 TO 135 DUE TO BLOWING
DUST AND LOW VISIBILITY
&&
JKEYESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO
350 PM MDT MON MAY 03 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0330 PM NON-TSTM WND GST HOWE 43.78N 113.00W
05/03/2010 M71 MPH BUTTE ID MESONET
WIND GUST MEASURED AT HOWE ARL SITE - SUSTAINED WINDS OF
44MPH
&&
JKEYES2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds with gusts of 60 to 80 mph caused interstate 15 to be closed at 1:42 pm through at least 10 pm between Idaho Falls and Roberts. Blowing dust dropped visibilities to near zero. A 71 mph wind gust was measured at Howe and a 76 mph wind gust was measured at Kettle Butte 11 miles west of Osgood.
Several sites reported wind gusts over 60 mph including the Pocatello Regional Airport ASOS measuring 62 mph. 60 mph was measured at the Arbon Valley ITD site and the Fort Hall ARL site.
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: 231976, 231980.