A strong Pacific cold front which brought high winds to lower elevations also brought snowfall and many closed roadways due to the combination of snow and wind. HIghways 87, 47, 32, and 20 north of Ashton all closed down due to low visibilities and blowing snow.
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 strong Pacific cold front which brought high winds to lower elevations also brought snowfall and many closed roadways due to the combination of snow and wind. HIghways 87, 47, 32, and 20 north of Ashton all closed down due to low visibilities and blowing snow. Vienna Mine reported 16 inches of snow. US Highway 26 closed between Ririe and Swan Valley.
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 Feb 24, 8:57 PM MST, 5 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 857 PM MST FRI FEB 24 2012 .UPDATE...VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE TROUGH MAKING LANDFALL ALONG PACIFIC COAST THIS EVENING PER WV SAT IMAGERY. FOG/IR IMAGERY SHOWS MOISTURE RAPIDLY SPREADING ACROSS OREGON WITH PRECIPITATION ALREADY IN NORTHEAST OREGON PER RADAR MOSAIC. BELIEVE POPS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE OVERNIGHT WITH PRECIP REACHING CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AFTER MIDNIGHT PER LATEST TIMING. GRIDS ALREADY SHOW THIS WELL. MAIN CONCERN STILL LIES WITH WINDS DURING THE DAY SATURDAY. LATEST NAM GUIDANCE HAS DROPPED SUSTAINED SPEEDS QUITE A BIT. SURFACE GRADIENT STILL QUITE STRONG THROUGH THE DAY WITH LOW DEEPENING OVER NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. BUT LATEST RUN INDICATES FIRST BURST OF MID LEVEL SUPPORT ACCOMPANIES THE FRONT BUT OUTPACES THE STRENGTHENING OF THE SURFACE GRADIENT WITH THE FINAL BURST SAGGING FURTHER SOUTH LATER IN THE DAY. REGARDLESS OF THESE NEW DETAILS...GUIDANCE STILL SUPPORTS HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA DURING THE DAY. WILL LEAVE ALL CURRENT HEADLINES IN PLACE AND LET NEXT PACKAGE SHIFT ADJUST AS NECESSARY WITH ADDITION OF GFS AND LOCAL WRF GUIDANCE. DMH && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 201 PM MST FRI FEB 24 2012/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. ANOTHER MAJOR STORM SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE ON SATURDAY. A DEEP UPPER TROUGH IS MOVING TOWARDS THE WEST COAST THIS AFTERNOON. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. STRONG WINDS WILL FOLLOW THE FRONT WITH HIGH WINDS SIMILAR TO WHAT THE AREA EXPERIENCED ON WEDNESDAY LIKELY ON SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL NOT BE NEARLY AS WARM SO NO ADDITIONAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED. PRECIPITATION SHOULD REMAIN ALL SNOW WITH THE SNAKE PLAIN SEEING VERY LITTLE IF ANY SNOW WHILE THE MOUNTAINS COULD SEE UP TO 10 INCHES WHILE THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS WILL SEE 2 TO 6 INCHES. CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HIGHLANDS WILL EXPERIENCE GUSTY CONDITIONS AS WELL...BUT PROBABLY NOT WARNING LEVEL WINDS LIKE THE SNAKE PLAIN. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL BE THE MAJOR IMPACT FOR THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN HIGHLANDS. THE HEAVIER SNOW AMOUNTS WILL RESULT IN A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS ABOVE 6500 FEET WHILE THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS WILL RECEIVE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. EXPECT MOUNTAIN PASSES IN BOTH AREAS TO BE DIFFICULT TO PASS THROUGH. EXPECT CONDITIONS TO GRADUALLY IMPROVE SATURDAY NIGHT AND BY SUNDAY...EXPECT A FEW ISOLATED MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS AND MUCH LIGHTER WINDS. ON MONDAY...ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL PASS SOUTH OF THE AREA. BOTH GFS AND NAM SHOWING A BAND OF SNOW WORKING NORTHWARD FROM UTAH. SNOW AMOUNTS WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM LOOK RELATIVELY LIGHT. CURRENT SNOW CHANCES ARE PROBABLY A LITTLE TOO LOW AND EXPECT FUTURE FORECASTS TO INCREASE. RIGHT NOW THIS SYSTEM DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A HEADLINE MAKER...BUT WILL NEED TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR. IF THE TRACK IS A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH...ADVISORIES MAY BE NEEDED FOR THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS. VALLE LONG TERM...MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO TRACK UPPER TROUGH ACROSS GREAT BASIN TROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. GFS ENSEMBLE HAS SOME SLIGHT UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE INTENSITY OF THE TROUGH. THE OPERATIONAL GFS IS A LITTLE MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE TROUGH...LIFTING IT OUT OF WEST ABOUT 6 HOURS EARLIER THAN THE ENSEMBLE MEAN. THE 12Z ECMWF IS MORE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE ENSEMBLE MEAN BUT DEVELOPS AN UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING AROUND 12Z TUESDAY. RIDGING BRIEFLY MOVES INTO THE AREA TUESDAY EVENING...THEN ANOTHER UPPER TROUGH PASSES THROUGH THE AREA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. GFS/ECMWF ARE SLIGHTLY IN DISAGREEMENT AFTER WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH THE ECMWF BRINGING IN A MORE AMPLIFIED RIDGE THAN THE GFS...BUT BOTH ARE ADVERTISING ABUNDANT MOISTURE MOVING THROUGH THE RIDGE. HAVE KEPT POPS FOR LATE WEEK NEAR CLIMO. HINSBERGER AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THRU TONIGHT AT ALL SITES...BUT CEILINGS AND VISIBILITY MAY DROP TO MVFR EARLY TOMORROW AS A STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE AREA. AS THE STORM APPROACHES...WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 35 TO 40 KTS IN RESPONSE TO A TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT. HINSBERGER && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 8 AM TO 8 PM MST SATURDAY IDZ017-020>022. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM MST SATURDAY ABOVE 6000 FEET FOR THE IDZ019-023-025. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 PM MST SATURDAY IDZ018. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 PM MST SATURDAY ABOVE 6500 FEET FOR THE IDZ031. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 202 PM MST FRI FEB 24 2012 IDZ019-023>025-252115- UPPER SNAKE HIGHLANDS-CARIBOU HIGHLANDS- CACHE VALLEY/IDAHO PORTION-WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION- 202 PM MST FRI FEB 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION SATURDAY. EXPECT GUSTY WINDS AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES. SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY. EXPECT PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW OFF AN ON MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. .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. IDZ017-020>022-252115- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY-UPPER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN- LOWER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN-SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS- 202 PM MST FRI FEB 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION SATURDAY. EXPECT STRONG WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT AND A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SATURDAY. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED. EXPECT PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. .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. IDZ018-031-032-252115- SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS-BIG AND LITTLE WOOD RIVER REGION- LOST RIVER/PAHSIMEROI- 202 PM MST FRI FEB 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL MOVE INTO AREAS ABOVE 6500 FEET LATE TONIGHT AND PERSIST THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY GUSTY WINDS WILL DEVELOP ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHICH COULD CREATE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING PROBLEMS. HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF UP TO 1 FOOT IS POSSIBLE ABOVE KETCHUM TO STANLEY. LESSER SNOW AMOUNTS OF ONLY A COUPLE INCHES IS POSSIBLE FROM MACKAY TO CHALLIS. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW DAILY MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. .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. VALLE
1 heavy snow, 1 winter weather, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Sixteen inches of snow fell at Vienna Mine with 6 inches at Galena Summit and 5 inches at Garfield Ranger Station.
US Highway 30 closed from Soda Springs to 3 miles west of Georgetown due to high winds and blowing snow.
HIghways 87, 47, 32, and 20 were all closed due to snow and strong winds causing blowing snow. Other roadways in Teton and Fremont Counties also closed due to the blowing and drifting snow.
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, February 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: 367610, 367612, 367607.