Flash Flooding in Idaho, September 3, 2013

Name: Flash Flooding in Idaho, September 3, 2013
Start: 2013-09-03T14:45
End: 2013-09-03T21:00
Location: Idaho

September 3, 2013 · NWS PIH · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

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: $708,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 PIH wrote it up.

The most significant flooding took place in Pocatello and Chubbuck in Bannock County, the second major flood in two weeks. Upwards of 4 to 5 inches of rain occurred in a localized area in Old Town and West Pocatello with more widespread 1 to 2 inch amounts north and east in the greater Pocatello area. Major flooding also occurred south of Oakley in Cassia County. Flash flooding also reported in Power County in the Arbon Valley and the Bannock Creek District of the Fort Hall Indian Resveration.

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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 3, 12:07 PM MST, 2 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 12:07 PM MST, 2 hours 38 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
107 PM MDT TUE SEP 3 2013

.DISCUSSION...THE DEEP UPPER LOW OFF THE PAC NW COAST NEAR 130W
CONTINUES TO DRIVE THE SOUTHERLY TRANSPORT OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE
INTO ID...WITH LITTLE CHANGE THRUOUGH THURSDAY. SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE
WESTERN HALF OF THE FCST AREA AND GRADUALLY SPREAT EASTWARD BY
THIS EVENING. PRECIP AMOUNTS WILL BE AMPLE AGAIN...ESPECIALLY OVER
THE CENTRAL MTNS AND SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS...AS PW VALUES ARE STILL
RUNNING ABOVE 1 INCH. ACTIVITY WILL DIMINISH LATE TONIGHT... BUT
REDEVELOP ON WED. BY THU...THE UPPER LOW MOVES INTO WESTERN OR.
THIS WILL BEGIN TO PUSH THE SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE TO THE NORTH AND
EAST...AND BY FRIDAY MOST OF THE ACTIVITY WILL BE EAST AND NORTH
OF THE FCST AREA. ONLY EXPECTING A FEW MTN TSTMS ON FRI AND SAT AS
THE UPPER LOW MOVES TO THE ID PANHANDLE. SUNDAY AND BEYOND LOOKS
DRY AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES AWAY AND BROAD UPPER RIDGING TAKES
OVER. HEDGES

&&

.AVIATION...MONSOON MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE OVER EASTERN IDAHO.
MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE DURING PERIODS OF HEAVIER RAINFALL
AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. ALL SITES HAVE -SHRA VCTS THROUGH THIS
EVENING ALTHOUGH KSUN WILL LIKELY SEE THE MOST WIDESPREAD ACTIVITY.
VCSH/VCTS IS EXPECTED TO BE CARRIED INTO TOMORROW AT THE VERY LEAST
IN THE FORECAST...WITH KSUN AGAIN LIKELY TO SEE MORE WIDESPREAD
ACTIVITY. A FEW STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE WINDS OVER 35KTS.  KEYES

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...A VERY MOIST AIRMASS REMAINS OVER EASTERN IDAHO
THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY. THIS MEANS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
CONTINUE WITH HEAVY RAINFALL UNTIL FRIDAY IT APPEARS AT THIS POINT.
THE MODELS ARE PUSHING THE LOW INLAND AND ACROSS THE NORTHERN STATES
INTO THE WEEKEND. A FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN AREAS ON FRIDAY AND
EVENTUALLY SHIFT EASTWARD BY SATURDAY. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...SHOWERS
AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE WITH A DRY/COOL AIRMASS COMING IN BEHIND
IT. RIGHT NOW... EVERYONE EXCEPT FOR THE MOUNTAINS ALONG THE WYOMING
BORDER SHOULD DRY OUT OVER THE WEEKEND. WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST ON
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...BUT WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT CRITICAL CONDITIONS
AS THE HUMIDITY WILL STILL BE UP BEHIND THE FRONT.  KEYES

&&

.PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM MDT THIS EVENING
IDZ018-022-031-032.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 3, 3:54 AM MST, 10 hours 51 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
454 AM MDT TUE SEP 3 2013

IDZ017>025-031-032-041100-
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-
454 AM MDT TUE SEP 3 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN IDAHO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE TODAY OVER THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS AND
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS PROMPTING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH PARTICULARLY OVER
BURN SCARS. NUMEROUS RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL
MOVE OVER THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS AND THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS THIS
MORNING AND CONTINUE OFF AND ON THROUGH THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ANOTHER
FLASH FLOOD WATCH MAY BE NEEDED PARTICULARLY ON WEDNESDAY.

.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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 3, 8:48 AM MST, 5 hours 57 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
948 AM MDT TUE SEP 3 2013

...TIME...  ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
...DATE...  ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0947 AM     DEBRIS FLOW      3 W HAILEY              43.51N 114.35W
09/03/2013                   BLAINE             ID   EMERGENCY MANAGER

            BLAINE CO. EM REPORTED 2 SLIDES FROM LAST
            NIGHT'S STORMS. ONE WAS UP CROY CANYON AND
            THE OTHER IN GREENHORN CANYON.

&&

IRIS SYSTEM

The radar

The Pocatello radar (KSFX), 27 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Bannock

When: September 3, 2:45 PM MST to 9:00 PM MST
Where: Bannock County, 1 mi N of Chubbuck to 3 mi NW of Chubbuck
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $700,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.934, -112.450

One to two inches of rain was reported by spotters in Chubbuck and east areas of Pocatello. Doppler radar indicated 4 to 5 inches over a localized area of Old Town and west Pocatello. Several homes and businesses were flooded with some evacuations ordered. Roads closed in the city were Hiline Road to Griffith Road; Hiline Road to El Rancho Boulevard; the Center Street underpass; Pocatello Avenue; Oak Street westbound to Yellowstone Avenue; the intersection of Pole Line Road and Fir Street; the North Main extension at Praxair; and Garrett Way at the railroad tracks. Hawthorne Road near Interstate 86 was closed in Chubbuck. Raymond Park in Pocatello was under water. 2 to 3 feet of standing water near Costco and a roof caved in business near Center Street underpass. A mudslide was reported at West Custer Street and Highland Boulevard in Pocatello.

Flash Flood, Power

When: September 3, 3:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where: Power County, 12 mi NW of Pauline to 12 mi W of Pauline
Cause: Heavy Rain / Burn Area
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 42.693, -112.717

One basement flooded in the Bannock Creek District of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation near Rooster Rock. Cars were washed down a road for a half mile. Water carried debris out of the mountains into the valley and took out fences along side of road from Rooster Rock to the road going to Bannock Peak. The main impacted area was from Rattlesnake to the Bannock Creek Community Center.

Flash Flood, Cassia

When: September 3, 5:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where: Cassia County, 3 mi NW of Oakley to 3 mi SW of Oakley
Cause: Heavy Rain / Burn Area
Property damage: $6,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 42.281, -113.912

Flash flooding occurred in the south foothills of Oakley. Heavy rain over a burn area caused water, debris and mud to flood one basement and several outlying buildings and potato cellars near the Mountain Meadows Ranch. The flow over burn areas brought ash into the debris and a foot of water and silt entered many ranch buildings and one basement.

What these are

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

Every storm in Idaho in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, September 2013

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 478240, 478246, 478242.