A strong cold front moved through eastern Idaho and brought with it mountain snow and strong winds. Some high elevations recorded 9 inches or greater, while high winds brought a dust storm and closing interstate 15 on the 2nd north of Idaho Falls.
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 cold front moved through eastern Idaho and brought with it mountain snow and strong winds. Some high elevations recorded 9 inches or greater, while high winds brought a dust storm and closing interstate 15 on the 2nd north of Idaho Falls.
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 1, 9:35 AM MST, 25 minutes earlier.
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
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 416 AM MST SUN DEC 1 2013 IDZ017>025-031-032-021130- 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- 416 AM MST SUN DEC 1 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ARE IN PLACE FOR MUCH OF THE SOUTHEAST IDAHO HIGH COUNTRY THROUGH TUESDAY. VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. EXPECT SNOW TO INTENSIFY ACROSS THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AROUND NOON AND SPREAD TO THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS BY MID-AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY AND COULD CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY WITH STRONG WINDS...POSSIBLY APPROACHING WARNING LEVEL...DURING THE DAY MONDAY. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL LIKELY MAKE FOR HAZARDOUS TRAVEL. TEMPERATURES AND WILL PLUMMET ACROSS THE REGION WEDNESDAY AND BEYOND WITH WIND CHILLS DROPPING AS LOW AS 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO. .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.
3 winter storm, 1 heavy snow, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Copper Basin recorded a wind gust of 61 mph on the 2nd and Mill Creek Summit recorded 11 inches of snow.
Several wind gusts of between 40 and 60 mph were recorded on the 2nd with White Elephant getting 9 inches of snow.
Heavy snow fell at high elevation SNOTEL sites with the following amounts recorded: 9 inches at Hyndman, 10 inches at Lost Wood Divide, and 28 inches at Vienna Mine.
Forty to 60 mph wind gusts were recorded on the 2nd with the Meadow Lake SNOTEL recording 12 inches of snow.
Wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph caused a dust storm and the closure of interstate 15 on December 2nd from Idaho Falls to Roberts covering a 16 mile stretch from milepost 119 to 135. The road was closed at 9:17 am and remained closed until the morning of the 3rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2013
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: 490090, 490093, 490103, 490104, 490098.