Idaho, 2012

Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Idaho, October 16, 2012

October 16, 2012 · NWS BOI · 6 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong cold passed from west to east through southeastern Oregon and South Eastern Idaho during the morning hours of October 16th. Winds of 35 to 45 mph occurred in the strong pressure gradient associated with the front.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOI wrote it up.

A strong cold passed from west to east through southeastern Oregon and South Eastern Idaho during the morning hours of October 16th. Winds of 35 to 45 mph occurred in the strong pressure gradient associated with the front. However, scattered thunderstorms along the front produced locally stronger winds as high as 71 mph and significant wind damage in portions of southern Idaho. Some thunderstorms also produced very heavy rain and flash flooding occurred in mountainous areas which were burned by wild fires earlier in the year.

What forecasters said that day

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 Boise, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 15, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 15, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 15, 2:28 AM MST, 21 hours 32 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The Boise radar (KCBX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Elmore

When
October 16, 12:00 AM MST to 9:57 AM MST
Where
Elmore County, 2 mi N of Pine
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.509, -115.320

Heavy Rain fell between midnight and 9:57 am MDT with 1.06 inches measured near Pine Idaho.

Thunderstorm Wind, Boise

When
October 16, 9:00 AM MST to 9:05 AM MST
Where
Boise County, 4.9 mi SW of Garden Vly Arpt
Measured
48 kt (55 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
44.020, -116.000

High winds knocked down several large trees near Holly Mountain. Power outages were reported in Idaho City, Placerville and Centerville Idaho.

Flash Flood, Elmore

When
October 16, 10:00 AM MST to 12:00 PM MST
Where
Elmore County, 5.49 mi WSW of Atlanta Graham Arpt to 6.07 mi WSW of Atlanta Graham Arpt
Cause
Heavy Rain / Burn Area
Reported by
Park/Forest Service
Coordinates
43.932, -115.378

A 36 inch culvert was clogged with debris and water went over the roadway making it impassable. Some damage to the road occurred. The washout was located on Forest Service Road 255 in the Lost Man Creek drainage which is east of the Roaring River which flows into the Middle Fork of the Boise River.

Thunderstorm Wind, Twin Falls

When
October 16, 10:50 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
Where
Twin Falls County, 0.11 mi SSE of (Twf)twin Falls Arpt to 2.15 mi E of Stricker
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
42.478, -114.479

Wide spread trees down along 3700 N road between Buhl and Kimberly. Two new commodity buidlings recieved damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Twin Falls

When
October 16, 10:50 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
Where
Twin Falls County, 0.86 mi SE of Twin Falls
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
42.560, -114.460

The broadcast news media (KMVT) reported up to 11,000 costomers without power throughout the Magic Valley after the storm.

Thunderstorm Wind, Twin Falls

When
October 16, 10:50 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
Where
Twin Falls County, (Twf)twin Falls Arpt
Measured
62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.480, -114.480

A peak wind gust of 71 mph was measured by the Twin Falls ASOS.

What these are

Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, October 2012

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 417510, 417515, 417508, 417517, 417518, 417520.