Another in a series of Pacific storms moved across Southeast Oregon and Southwest Idaho spreading heavy snow over the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Another in a series of Pacific storms moved across Southeast Oregon and Southwest Idaho spreading heavy snow over 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 Dec 17, 9:42 AM MST, 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
942 AM MST THU DEC 17 2015
.DISCUSSION...WINTER STORM IS ON TRACK. WEBCAMS AND OBSERVATIONS
INDICATE SNOW HAS SPREAD INTO ALL OF SE OREGON...WITH MODERATE
SNOW REPORTED AT THE BURNS AND BAKER CITY AIRPORTS. SNOWFALL
AMOUNTS OF 2-3 INCHES AND SNOW-COVERED ROADS HAVE ALREADY BEEN
REPORTED IN NORTHERN HARNEY COUNTY. THE SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO SW
IDAHO FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS MORNING THROUGH AFTERNOON. SNOW
LEVELS WILL START TO RISE ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF HARNEY AND
MALHEUR COUNTIES AS A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTHEAST. DETAILS ON THE
WINTER STORM CAN BE FOUND IN THE LATEST WINTER MESSAGE...BOIWSWBOI.
&&
.AVIATION...THIS MORNING MAINLY VFR ACROSS SOUTHWEST IDAHO. IFR
CONDITIONS IN SNOW SPREADING ACROSS EASTERN OREGON...REACHING KMYL
AND KBOI BY 18Z. STARTING LATE TONIGHT CONDITIONS SLOWLY IMPROVING
FROM THE WEST AT LOWER ELEVATIONS WITH SNOW CHANGING TO RAIN BELOW
3K FT MSL AFTER 06Z AND BELOW 4500 FT MSL AFTER 12Z. SURFACE
WINDS...EAST TO SOUTH 10-20 KTS. WINDS ALOFT AT 10K FT MSL...WEST
40- 50 KTS DECREASING TO 25-35 KTS AFTER 06Z.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...
SHORT TERM...MOSTLY CLEAR AND QUITE COLD THIS NIGHT AHEAD OF
INCOMING PACIFIC STORM AND A HEAVY SNOWFALL LATER TODAY THROUGH
FRIDAY. THE SNOW WILL COME AS THE STORM/S WARM FRONT MOVES
THROUGH EASTERN OREGON LATE TODAY AND WESTERN IDAHO TONIGHT.
HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL IN BAKER COUNTY ACROSS THE IDAHO BORDER
INTO THE UPPER WEISER RIVER AREA AND THE WEST CENTRAL IDAHO
MOUNTAINS. THE LATTER AREAS WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE SNOW...
MODERATE TO HEAVY ALL THE WAY THROUGH FRIDAY. FARTHER SOUTH
LESS SNOW IS EXPECTED AND THE SNOW LEVEL WILL RISE TO NEAR
5000 FEET DURING THE NIGHT AND STAY THERE THROUGH FRIDAY.
WIND SHOULD NOT BE A MAJOR FACTOR IN THIS STORM. TEMPERATURES
WILL RISE TO NEAR FREEZING IN THE VALLEYS LATE TODAY AND THEN
HOLD STEADY OR SLOWLY RISE THROUGH THE NIGHT...AND THEN TO
NEAR 40 DEGREES FRIDAY. IN THE MOUNTAINS AND NORTH TEMPS
WILL ALSO RISE THROUGH THE 20S LATE TODAY...HOLD STEADY TONIGHT
..THEN REACH THE 30S FRIDAY.
LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. ACTIVE PATTERN CONTINUES
WITH SEVERAL BOUTS OF MOISTURE...FRONTS...AND CONTINUED
PRECIPITATION. PARTIALLY STALLED WARM FRONT FROM FRIDAY WILL BE
PUSHED OUT BY A COLD FRONT ON SATURDAY...WITH SNOW LEVELS BEGINNING
AROUND 4000-5000 FT THEN LOWERING TO VALLEY FLOORS BEHIND THE FRONT.
HOWEVER...A BREAK IN PRECIP BEHIND THE FRONT WILL PREVENT MUCH
ACCUMULATIONS IN VALLEY FLOORS...SO THE ESTIMATE NOW IS LESS THAN
ONE HALF INCH ON SATURDAY EVENING. HOWEVER...IN MOUNTAIN AREAS...
ESPECIALLY THE IDAHO CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...5-10 INCHES IS
FORECAST. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH ON SUNDAY WITH ANOTHER WEAK
COLD FRONT WILL REINFORCE THE COLDER SURFACE AIR AND BRING ANOTHER
BATCH OF PRECIP...MOSTLY IN THE FORM OF SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON AND
CONTINUING THROUGH MONDAY. ANOTHER INCH IS POSSIBLE AT VALLEY
FLOORS...WITH UP TO 6 MORE INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. BY MONDAY
AFTERNOON...THE AREA TRANSITIONS INTO ANOTHER WARM SECTOR FLOW WITH
YET ANOTHER SHORTWAVE. SNOW LEVELS WILL RISE ONCE AGAIN TO 3000-4000
FT TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...THE FINER DETAILS ARE STILL A BIT
MUDDLED BUT MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THIS ACTIVE PATTERN...SO POPS
REMAIN ABOVE CLIMO. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO REMAIN WITHIN 5 DEGREES OF
NORMAL THROUGH THE ENTIRE PERIOD.
&&
.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST FRIDAY IDZ012>014-016-029.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST FRIDAY IDZ011.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST FRIDAY IDZ033.
OR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST /4 AM PST/ FRIDAY
ORZ063-064.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY ORZ062.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON ORZ061.
&&
WEATHER.GOV/BOISE
DISCUSSION...BW
AVIATION.....JT
PREV SHORT TERM...LC
PREV LONG TERM....EPThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The coop observer at Payette reported 6 inches of new snow and various reports of 4 to 6 inches were received by law enforcement.
Several reports were received around the Weiser area of 4 to 7 inches of new snow.
The coop observer at Garden Valley reported 10 inches of new snow and a trained spotter at pine estimated 12 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2015
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: 612424, 612381, 612379.