A trough rotating around a large, cold, upper level low centered off the Oregon coast swept across Southwest Idaho on the afternoon of the 6th. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along the associated front bringing damaging winds and hail up to three quarters of and inch to the area.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 BOI wrote it up.
A trough rotating around a large, cold, upper level low centered off the Oregon coast swept across Southwest Idaho on the afternoon of the 6th. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed along the associated front bringing damaging winds and hail up to three quarters of and inch to the area.
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 Mar 6, 9:43 AM MST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID 943 AM MST WED MAR 6 2013 .DISCUSSION...LOW OVER WESTERN OREGON THIS MORNING WILL ROTATE SHORT WAVE...WITH UPPER LEVEL JET SUPPORT...OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. FAIRLY UNSTABLE AND THUNDER IS ALREADY IN THE FORECAST. CONVECTION WILL BE ABLE TO TAP INTO STRONGER WINDS ALOFT...AND A FAIRLY DRY LAYER AT THE SURFACE WILL LEAD TO SOME INVERTED-V TYPE OF PROFILES LATER TODAY. ALL THIS POINTS TO WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREAT FROM STORMS TODAY...AND WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME ISOLATED SEVERE GUSTS OUT OF THE STORMS. GRAUPEL AND SMALL HAIL ALSO LIKELY...BUT WILL MAINLY BE WATCHING FOR WINDS. DRIER TOMORROW AS LOW DROPS TOWARD ARIZONA AND MOST OF THE PRECIP SHOULD STAY SOUTH AND EAST OF OUR FORECAST AREA. CURRENT GRIDS LOOK PRETTY GOOD...SO DONT ANTICIPATE ANY UPDATES. && .AVIATION...SCATTERED SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY WITH SNOW LEVELS BETWEEN 3500 AND 4500 FEET MSL. LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS IN HEAVIER SHOWERS ALONG WITH MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION. SNAKE RIVER VALLEY WILL REMAIN PRIMARILY VFR BUT COULD SEE BRIEF MVFR CONDITIONS IN HEAVIER SHOWERS. WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING OVER SOUTHEAST OREGON SPREADING INTO SOUTHWEST IDAHO THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE WINDS WILL BE SOUTHERLY 10-20 KNOTS WITH GUSTY TO AROUND 30 KNOTS...WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 40-45 KNOTS NEAR ANY THUNDERSTORMS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...PRECIPITATION IS SPREADING INTO THE AREA TONIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH A SHORTWAVE TROUGH EMBEDDED IN AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CENTERED OFF THE OREGON COAST. PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY UNDER MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW WITH THE BEST CHANCE BEING IN THE WEST CENTRAL AND BOISE MOUNTAINS. PRECIP WILL FALL AS RAIN IN THE VALLEYS AND AS SNOW ABOVE 3500-4500 FEET MSL. STRONG WINDS ALOFT WILL MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE...WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH MAINLY IN SOUTHEAST OREGON THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. IN ADDITION...COOL ARE WILL MOVE IN ALOFT CREATING ENOUGH INSTABILITY TO SUPPORT A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON NORTH OF A BURNS-TWIN FALLS LINE. PRECIP WILL DIMINSH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING AS THE SHORTWAVE MOVES NORTHEAST AND THE PARENT LOW MOVE SOUTH THROUGH CALIFORNIA...WITH JUST WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY ON THURSDAY. 2-4 INCHES OF SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAIN VALLEYS...WITH UP TO 10 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 7000 FEET MSL. LONG TERM...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...SPLIT UPPER TROUGH WILL LINGER OVER THE REGION THROUGH FRIDAY. BULK OF THE ENERGY WILL RESIDE AT THE BASE OF THE TROUGH AS A CLOSED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WHICH DIGS WELL TO OUR SOUTH. MOISTURE WITH THE TROUGH WILL WARRANT A CHANCE OF SHOWERS ALONG THE NEVADA BORDER AND IN THE CENTRAL ID MTNS AS MOISTURE WILL WRAP INTO THOSE AREAS FROM THE SOUTH. OTHERWISE...THE REMAINDER OF SE OREGON AND SW IDAHO WILL BE DRY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOL ON FRIDAY WITH HIGHS A FEW DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. UPPER HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE AREA OVER THE WEEKEND FOR DRY CONDITIONS AND TEMPERATURES TRENDING TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL ON SUNDAY. SLIGHT WARMING TREND CONTINUES MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS THE RIDGE REMAINS ACROSS THE WEST WITH VALLEY HIGHS IN THE 50S TO LOWER 60S. MOISTURE RIDING OVER THE TOP OF THE RIDGE MAY BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BRING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS TO THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN...OTHERWISE DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL. && .BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...NONE. OR...NONE. && WEATHER.GOV/BOISE DISCUSSION...TB AVIATION.....JA PREV SHORT TERM...CB PREV LONG TERM....BW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID 552 AM MST WED MAR 6 2013 IDZ012-014>016-028>030-033-ORZ061>064-071300- LOWER TREASURE VALLEY ID-UPPER TREASURE VALLEY- SOUTHWEST HIGHLANDS-WESTERN MAGIC VALLEY-CAMAS PRAIRIE- OWYHEE MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN TWIN FALLS COUNTY-UPPER WEISER RIVER- HARNEY COUNTY-BAKER COUNTY-MALHEUR COUNTY- LOWER TREASURE VALLEY OR- 552 AM MST WED MAR 6 2013 /452 AM PST WED MAR 6 2013/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO...SOUTHWEST IDAHO...WEST CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHEAST OREGON AND SOUTHEAST OREGON. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. IDZ011-013-071300- WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-BOISE MOUNTAINS- 552 AM MST WED MAR 6 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL IDAHO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT EXPECT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 5 INCHES IN THE VALLEYS AND 5 TO 10 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The Boise radar (KCBX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:00 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A retired NWS employee reported roof shingles blown off homes in the area.
A NWS storm survey estimated a 60 to 65 MPH wind gust destroyed an announcers booth at the Meridian Lions Club rodeo grounds. In addition, four sets of unsecured grandstand bleachers were flipped upside down and rolled over a fence into the middle of the rodeo grounds.
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, March 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: 434232, 434233.