High winds causes another dust storm between Idaho Falls and Roberts and closed interstate 15 from milepost 119 to 134 from 11 AM through 4:15 pm on November 25th. Several inches of dust accumulated on the road and a 3 car collision occurred due to the 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.
High winds causes another dust storm between Idaho Falls and Roberts and closed interstate 15 from milepost 119 to 134 from 11 AM through 4:15 pm on November 25th. Several inches of dust accumulated on the road and a 3 car collision occurred due to the low visibility.
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 25, 9:03 AM MST, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 903 AM MST FRI NOV 25 2011 .UPDATE...UPPER SHORTWAVE IN PLACE OVER EASTERN IDAHO PER WV IMAGERY THIS MORNING. AIRMASS ALOFT RATHER DRY AND WAVE MOVING VERY QUICKLY SO EXPECTATIONS FOR OVERALL PRECIPITATION REMAIN LOW. SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS MOVING THROUGH AHEAD OF COLD FRONT NOW ROTATING THROUGH THE MAGIC AND TREASURE VALLEYS. WINDS STILL APPEARING TO BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH THIS SYSTEM. MORNING GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO INDICATE SPEEDS OVER 30 MPH FOR SOLID WIND ADVISORY AND MAY STILL FLIRT WITH HIGH WIND THRESHOLDS AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. STILL A THREAT FOR FALLING SNOW MAINLY IN THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS NOW. WILL LEAVE WINTER WX ADV FOR CURRENT REGIONS FOR COMBINATION OF SNOW/WIND. GIVEN DRY AND FAST CHARACTERSITICS OF THIS SYSTEM...WILL KEEP ACCUMULATIONS LOW. NO UPDATES ANTICIPATED THIS MORNING. DMH && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 306 AM MST FRI NOV 25 2011/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. A COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO WORK THROUGH EASTERN IDAHO THIS MORNING WITH LIGHT SNOW IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. .06 HAS FALLEN IN STANLEY WITH SHOWERS WORKING INTO THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN AT 3 AM. HIGHLIGHTS ARE THE CONTINUED WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HIGHLANDS THROUGH 5 PM AND THE WIND ADVISORY IN THE SNAKE PLAIN...MAGIC VALLEY AND SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ALSO THROUGH 5 PM. SHOWERS WIDESPREAD THROUGH THE STATE AT 3 AM AND SHOULD CONTINUE TO PUSH EAST THROUGH THE MORNING. STILL TRENDED ON GRIDS IN BETWEEN THE GFS AND NAM GUIDANCE WITH SUSTAINED 30 TO 35 MPH WINDS EXPECTED BY LATE MORNING IN THE SNAKE RIVER PLAIN. SNOW SHOWERS MAY LINGER ALONG THE WYOMING BORDER EARLY THIS EVENING BUT BE COMPLETELY OVER BY MIDNIGHT ALL LOCATIONS AS UPPER RIDGE BUILDS IN FROM WEST ALONG WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE. WINDS WILL DIE OVERNIGHT AND EXPECT LIGHT WINDS SATURDAY. A WEAK SYSTEM MAY SPREAD SNOW SOWERS BACK INTO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. THE WEEKEND HOWEVER WILL BE DRY THROUGH DAYTIME SUNDAY AFTER THE SYSTEM PASSES THROUGH TODAY. GK LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH A WEAK DISTURBANCE BRINGING SCATTERED SHOWERS TO THE MOUNTAINS MONDAY AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE LOWER VALLEYS. THIS WILL BE A QUICK MOVING DISTURBANCE WITH VERY LITTLE ACCUMULATION OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. BY TUESDAY...MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE SUBSTANTIALLY. THE ECM IS MUCH MORE AMPLIFIED AND CUTS OFF A LOW PRESSURE DISTURBANCE ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST BY THURSDAY MORNING. CURRENT FORECAST FOLLOWS THE GFS AND HPC PREFERENCE MORE CLOSELY WITH MORE BROAD HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING AFFECTING IDAHO...SOME MOISTURE AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS NIPPING THE NORTHERN MOUNTAIN AREAS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THIS IS OVER ALL A DRIER AND WARMER FORECAST. RS AVIATION...LOW PRESSURE TROUGH MOVING QUICKLY THROUGH ALBERTA AND MONTANA THIS MORNING. SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS AND LOCAL MVFR CEILINGS AT KSUN UNTIL 16Z...AND KIDA AND KPIH UNTIL 18Z. STRONG WINDS FROM THE SOUTHWEST AT 30 TO 40 MPH WITH A FEW GUSTS REACHING THE LOWER 50S IN THE SNAKE PLAIN AND SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT MOVES INTO THE DAKOTAS BY EARLY AFTERNOON WITH THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TAILING BACK INTO THE ARCO DESERT. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN 18-21Z...THEN DECREASE IN STRENGTH LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH 02Z. RS && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON IDZ017-020>022. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON IDZ018-019-023-025-031. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 502 AM MST FRI NOV 25 2011 IDZ017>025-031-032-261215- 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- 502 AM MST FRI NOV 25 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT COLD FRONT WORKING THROUGH SOUTHEAST IDAHO. WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT IN SNAKE PLAIN...EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY AND SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS FOR 25 TO 40 MPH SUSTAINED WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT AS WELL IN CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HIGHLANDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .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.
High winds caused another dust storm between Idaho Falls and Roberts and closed interstate 15 from milepost 119 to 134 from 11 AM through 4:15 pm on November 25th. Several inches of dust accumulated on the road and a 3 car collision occurred due to the low visibility.
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: 354142.