Sustained 40 mph winds occurred in the Upper Snake River Plain from early morning through noon on the 17th. Atomic City, Ririe, Rover site and several INL sites reported the over 40 mph sustained winds.
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.
Sustained 40 mph winds occurred in the Upper Snake River Plain from early morning through noon on the 17th. Atomic City, Ririe, Rover site and several INL sites reported the over 40 mph sustained winds.
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 Dec 17, 2:40 AM MST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 240 AM MST MON DEC 17 2012 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SOUTHEAST IDAHO IS CURRENTLY UNDER THE WARM SECTOR OF THE SURFACE LOW SITUATED OVER NORTHWESTERN WASHINGTON. WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL SHIFT EASTWARD LATER THIS MORNING...BUT A 150KT JET MAXIMUM WILL WORK ITS WAY INTO NORTHWEST NEVADA THIS AFTERNOON PROVIDING ENHANCEMENT TO THE PRECIPITATION FIELD. WV IMAGERY DEPICTING MID LEVEL DRY AIR THAT DEVELOPED OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE REGION. THIS IS NOT WELL DEPICTED BY THE MODELS AND CONTRIBUTED TO REDUCING QPF SLIGHTLY ACROSS THE AREA...WHICH ALSO REDUCED SNOW TOTALS THROUGH THE PERIOD. WILL CONTINUE HEADLINES AS EVEN WITH REDUCED SNOW TOTALS...WINDS WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO REDUCE VISIBILITY WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. COLDER AIR FILTERS BACK INTO THE AREA TONIGHT AS THE SURFACE COLD FRONT DRIVES SOUTHEASTWARD. COLDEST TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY MORNING. WEDNESDAY NIGHT POPS MAY TREND HIGHER WITH WARM AIR ADVECTION AND AN UPPER JET MAX PROVIDES SOME FORCING...BUT GFS/NAM DIFFER ON EXTENT OF PRECIPITATION. HINSBERGER .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH NEXT MONDAY. GFS/ECMWF BEGIN THE PERIOD IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH A HEALTHY LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM POSITIONED OFF THE NW COAST AND A MOIST SW FLOW ACROSS NRN/CNTRL IDAHO. FROM THIS POINT FORWARD...THE MODELS SHOW FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE LOW OFF THE COAST WITH THE GFS ROTATING A NUMBER OF WAVES INTO/ACROSS THE NW STATES THROUGH SATURDAY BEFORE FINALLY FILLING AND SHEARING THE LOW INLAND SUNDAY/MONDAY. THE ECMWF ON THE OTHER HAND SHOWS THE PATTERN AMPLIFYING THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS THE LOW DIGS FURTHER SOUTH ALONG THE COAST BEFORE KICKING INLAND SUNDAY/MONDAY. DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY IN THE DEVELOPING PATTERN...WE HAVE GENERALLY MAINTAINED THE CURRENT FORECAST WHICH IS ADVERTISING A CHANCE MENTION OF PRECIPITATION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TIME FRAME. TEMPS REMAIN AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. HUSTON && .AVIATION...A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WAS OBSERVED WORKING ACROSS SEATTLE EARLY THIS MORNING WITH AN ACCOMPANYING UPPER JET PUNCHING INTO OREGON AND A MODEST WARM-FRONTAL RAIN/SNOW BAND ARCHING ACROSS THE REGION. MODELS GENERALLY SHOW A GRADUAL DETERIORATION OF THE WARM-FRONTAL PATTERN THIS AFTERNOON AS THE STRONG WEST FLOW OVERSPREADS SRN IDAHO. MODEL CROSS-SECTIONS SHOW A MODERATELY DEEP SATURATED LAYER AT THE TERMINALS THROUGH ABOUT NOON TODAY WITH GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT/PARTIAL DRYING FROM 18 TO 06Z TONIGHT UNDER THE STRONG WEST FLOW. VERY STRONG WSW WINDS SURFACE AND ALOFT ARE ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON WITH 700MB/10K FT WIND SPEEDS RUNNING UPWARDS OF 65KTS AND SURFACE WINDS IN THE SNAKE PLAIN RANGING FROM 30-45KTS SUSTAINED THIS AFTERNOON...DECREASING SUBSTANTIALLY AFTER 03Z THIS EVENING. HUSTON && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING IDZ017-020-021. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY IDZ020-021. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY BELOW 7000 FEET FOR THE IDZ018-019-023-025-031. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY ABOVE 7000 FEET FOR THE IDZ018-019-023-025-031. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY IDZ022-024. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY IDZ032. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 504 AM MST SUN DEC 16 2012 IDZ017-171215- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY- 504 AM MST SUN DEC 16 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY TOMORROW OVER THE AREA WITH PEAK GUSTS OF 30 TO 35 MPH. LIGHT SNOWFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED. .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>025-031-032-171215- 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- 504 AM MST SUN DEC 16 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA AND INTENSIFY THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS. HEAVIER SNOW IS EXPECTED TO FALL OVERNIGHT AS WINDS INCREASE AS WELL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL WITH GUSTY WINDS IS EXPECTED MOST OF MONDAY AND MAY IMPACT EARLY HOLIDAY TRAVEL. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW MAY REDUCE VISIBILITY FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW MAY TEMPORARILY CLOSE ROADS. .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 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained 40 mph winds occurred in the Upper Snake River Plain from early morning through noon on the 17th. Atomic City, Ririe, Rover site and several INL sites reported the over 40 mph sustained winds.
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, December 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: 425154.