Interstate 15 between Idaho Falls and Roberts shut down at 12:45 PM for over an hour due to zero visibility from blowing dust. It was closed from milepost 119 to milepost 134.
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.
Interstate 15 between Idaho Falls and Roberts shut down at 12:45 PM for over an hour due to zero visibility from blowing dust. It was closed from milepost 119 to milepost 134.
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 Nov 17, 1:56 AM MST, 10 hours 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 156 AM MST THU NOV 17 2011 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. A STRONG NEGATIVELY TILTED TROUGH IS NOW SPINNING THROUGH WASHINGTON/OREGON WITH ITS ATTENDANT UPPER LOW STILL IN THE GULF OF ALASKA. MOISTURE WILL SPREAD INTO THE AREA THIS MORNING WITH SNOW ALREADY STARTING TO FALL AROUND BOISE. BY MID TO LATE MORNING...THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL RANGE WILL START SEEING HEAVIER SNOWFALL WITH 10 TO 12 INCHES EXPECTED. A STRONG UPSLOPE FLOW WILL ALSO RESULT IN SOME HEAVIER SNOWFALL IN THE UPPER SNAKE AND CARIBOU HIGHLANDS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. AS THE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PASSES THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...THE FOCUS WILL SHIFT TO THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS LATE TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW. GFS SNOW AMOUNTS ARE SHOWING A MAXIMUM OF 15-20 INCHES ALONG THE TETONS...BUT THAT IS A 60-HOUR TOTAL. WILL KEEP CURRENT HEADLINES FOR NOW. WINDS WILL BE STRONG TODAY AND TOMORROW AND MAY BE NEAR ADVISORY LEVELS PER MOS GUIDANCE...BUT AM HOLDING JUST UNDER THAT FOR NOW. HINSBERGER .LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SPLIT FLOW BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER EASTERN IDAHO ON SUNDAY WITH LOW DROPPING SOUTH ALONG CALIFORNIA COAST AND WEAK NORTHERN STREAM TROUGH OVERHEAD. MODELS SHOW MAINLY CONFLUENT FLOW OVER EASTERN IDAHO BUT ENOUGH LINGERING MOISTURE TO WARRANT WEAK POPS OVER HIGHER ELEVATION AREAS SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT. AS SOUTHERN LOW OPENS AND MOVES INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST FLAT FLOW ALOFT OVER IDAHO BEGINS TO TRANSFORM INTO RIDGING EARLY IN THE WEEK. HAVE WEAKENED POPS CONSIDERABLY MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. BOTH GFS AND ECMWF MOVE DEEP PACIFIC WAVE INTO THE COASTAL STATES TUESDAY NIGHT BUT DIFFER SLIGHTLY IN ONSET OF PRECIP FOR EASTERN IDAHO. RETURNED POPS TO JUST ABOVE CLIMO FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. DMH && .AVIATION...MOISTURE BEGINNING TO SPREAD INTO THE REGION THIS MORNING PER RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY AS UPPER WAVE DROPS INTO THE PACNW. MAINLY MID LEVEL MOISTURE EARLY TODAY FOR VFR CONDITIONS MOST AREAS. FAVORED TERRAIN REGIONS OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS ALREADY SEEING CONDITIONS DROP TO OCCASIONAL MVFR AHEAD OF THE PRECIP AND EXPECT KSUN TO BE THE FIRST TO SEE SNOWFALL JUST BEFORE SUNRISE. MOISTURE SPREADS EAST THROUGH THE DAY BUT STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW MUCH WILL IMPACT THE SNAKE PLAIN. CURRENT IDEA IS THAT PRECIP WILL MAINLY AFFECT AREAS NORTH OF KPIH UNTIL COLD FRONT SAGS THROUGH THE REGION LATER TODAY AND INTO TONIGHT. EXPECT CONDITIONS TO DETERIORATE TO MVFR OR IF ONCE THE SNOW STARTS. DMH && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 11 AM THURSDAY TO 11 PM MST FRIDAY IDZ019-023. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM THROUGH 11 PM MST THURSDAY ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR 031. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THURSDAY TO 5 AM MST SATURDAY IDZ022-025. WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH 11 PM MST THURSDAY IDZ018. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 451 AM MST THU NOV 17 2011 IDZ017-020-021-024-032-181200- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY-UPPER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN- LOWER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN-CACHE VALLEY/IDAHO PORTION- LOST RIVER/PAHSIMEROI- 451 AM MST THU NOV 17 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT BREEZY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE SNAKE PLAIN THIS AFTERNOON WITH WIND GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WINDS WILL BE GUSTY AGAIN FRIDAY WITH GUSTS NEAR 30 MPH. .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. IDZ018-031-181200- SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS-BIG AND LITTLE WOOD RIVER REGION- 451 AM MST THU NOV 17 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. SNOWFALL OF 10 TO 12 INCHES IS EXPECTED TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MODERATE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. .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. IDZ019-022-023-025-181200- UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS-SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-CARIBOU HIGHLANDS- WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION- 451 AM MST THU NOV 17 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS TONIGHT. SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MODERATE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS. TOTAL AMOUNTS WILL BE AROUND 6 TO 10 INCHES. .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.
1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Interstate 15 between Idaho Falls and Roberts shut down at 12:45 PM for over an hour due to zero visibility from blowing dust. It was closed from milepost 119 to milepost 134.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, November 2011
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: 354139.