A 700 acre wildfire began on August 27th about 10 miles south of Arco in the lava fields burning grass and brush. No property was threatened by the blaze.
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.
A 700 acre wildfire began on August 27th about 10 miles south of Arco in the lava fields burning grass and brush. No property was threatened by the blaze.
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 Aug 27, 12:38 PM MST, 1 hour 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 138 PM MDT MON AUG 27 2012 .DISCUSSION...AFTERNOON WV IMAGERY SHOWING EXTENSIVE DRY AIR OVER CA/NV WHILE MOISTURE FROM THIS MORNING SHIFTS EASTWARD ALONG WITH THE UPPER RIDGE. MODELS MAINTAIN A SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW OVER IDAHO THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH SLOWLY PUSHES ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THE TROUGH SHOULD REMAIN OVER NORTHERN IDAHO...BUT WILL RESULT IN INCREASED WINDS AND DRAW MOISTURE INTO THE SOUTHEAST HIGHLANDS. HAVE INCREASED POPS FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THE WEEKEND LOOKS TO BE WET AS ANOTHER SURGE OF MOISTURE MAKES ITS WAY INTO SOUTHEAST IDAHO FROM THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. AS UPPER RIDGING SHIFTS EASTWARD...TEMPERATURES SHOULD DROP INTO THE MID 80S THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HINSBERGER && .AVIATION...BREEZY SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS WHICH MAY HELP SMOKE CLEAR OUT A BIT IN SOME THE VALLEY AREAS.HOWEVER...TONIGHT SHOULD SEE THE INVERSION SET UP WITH SMOKE SETTLING INTO THE SOME AREAS ESPECIALLY THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS AND AFFECTING THOSE AIRPORTS INCLUDING KSUN. VFR CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY EXCEPT WHERE SMOKE EXISTS. KEYES && .FIRE WEATHER...ANY ISOLATED STORMS WILL PERSIST UP NORTH THROUGH THE EVENING. TUESDAY WILL BE DRY WITH BREEZY SOUTHERLY WINDS. LOCAL RED FLAG CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE BUT NO WIDESPREAD ISSUES ARE EXPECTED. TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY ARE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY. A SYSTEM PASSES TO OUR NORTH. THE ONLY PLACE WE MAY SEE A FEW STORMS IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER. OTHERWISE...VERY STRONG WINDS AND BONE DRY CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY. TUESDAY NIGHT WILL SEE RATHER DRY CONDITIONS AT RIDGETOP WITH WIND GUSTS AT OR ABOVE THE THERMAL BELT REACHING 30 MPH IF NOT HIGHER. BY WEDNESDAY MORNING...THE COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH. SOUNDINGS SHOW MIXING TO A PRETTY GOOD HEIGHT EARLY ON. GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 40MPH ARE POSSIBLE A GOOD POTENTIAL TO REACH 55-60 MPH EVEN IF FOR A SHORT TIME. DURING THE DAY...THE FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH WITH STRONG WINDS AND VERY LOW HUMIDITY SPREADING OVER THE AREA. THE ONLY AREAS THAT MAY NOT SEE WIDESPREAD RED FLAG CONDITIONS WOULD BE ZONE 412. WINDS DO NOT APPEAR TO BE AS STRONG DUE TO BEING FARTHER AWAY FROM THE INFLUENCE OF THE STORM. NEEDLESS TO SAY...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR ALL ZONES EXCEPT THAT ZONE ALTHOUGH HIGHER PEAKS IN THOSE AREAS COULD SEE GUSTS OVER 30 MPH. THE REST OF THE WEEK WILL SEE THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW STORMS IN THE SOUTHERN/EASTERN MOUNTAINS AND DRY ELSEWHERE. WINDS COULD BE LOCALLY BREEZY ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. KEYES && .AIR STAGNATION...AIR QUALITY HAS IMPROVED SOMEWHAT TODAY...BUT WILL DETERIORATE AGAIN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS AS A COLD FRONT PRODUCES GUSTY WINDS FAVORING FIRE GROWTH. HINSBERGER && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING IDZ409>411-413. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM LATE TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON IDZ475>477. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 209 PM MDT MON AUG 27 2012 IDZ017>025-031-032-281200- 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- 209 PM MDT MON AUG 27 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SMOKE WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE VISIBILITIES ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. AIR QUALITY ALERTS REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR BLAINE AND CUSTER COUNTIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A MOSTLY DRY STORM SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. A FEW STORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER...OTHERWISE EXPECT VERY DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS. CRITICAL FIRE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND SPREADING ACROSS ALL AREAS EXCEPT THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS WEDNESDAY. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL FIRE ZONES EXCEPT ZONE 412. A WIND ADVISORY IS POSSIBLY NEEDED FOR THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND PORTIONS OF THE SNAKE PLAIN AND HIGHLANDS. .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 ID 909 AM MDT MON AUG 27 2012 IDZ018-280315- SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...STANLEY...CLAYTON 909 AM MDT MON AUG 27 2012 ...LOCALLY DENSE FOG NEAR STANLEY... VISIBILITY MAY BE RESTRICTED TO LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE IN STANLEY AND ADJACENT AREAS OF THE SAWTOOTH VALLEY. THE FOG SHOULD BURN OFF OR LIFT BY NOON.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A 700 acre wildfire began on August 27th about 10 miles south of Arco in the lava fields burning grass and brush. No property was threatened by the blaze.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, August 2012
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: 411123.