Thunderstorm winds caused damage throughout southeast Idaho on May 30th.
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 PIH wrote it up.
Thunderstorm winds caused damage throughout southeast Idaho on May 30th.
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 May 30, 1:06 PM MST, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 206 PM MDT SAT MAY 30 2015 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. SHORTWAVE TOPPING UPPER RIDGE TODAY/THIS EVENING APPEARS TO BE ENOUGH TO FIRE CONVECTION ACROSS PORTIONS OF EAST IDAHO. WEAK CONVECTION ALREADY BEGINNING EARLY THIS AFTERNOON IN CENTRAL MTNS AND JUST NORTH OF NEVADA BORDER. MODELS APPEAR TO BE PICKING UP THESE AREAS WELL WITH PROGRESSION INTO EASTERN HIGHLANDS THROUGH THE EVENING. NAM AND GFE THE WETTEST MODELS ESPECIALLY THE CENTRAL MTNS AND ALONG THE DIVIDE. HAVE SPLIT POPS FOR THE EVENING WITH LOWER VALUES AFTER SUNSET ALONG WITH LOSS OF THUNDER. RIDGE REBOUNDS THROUGH SUNDAY WITH AXIS THROUGH UTAH/WYOMING. COULD SEE SPOTTY CONVECTION FIRE AGAIN IN SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS AND ALONG DIVIDE. DIFFERENCE IS THAT RESONSIBLE SHORTWAVE LIFTS THROUGH THE GREAT BASIN OVERNIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING WITH NEGATIVE TILT. BOTH NAM AND GFS KEEP CONVECTION GOING OVERNIGHT ESPECIALLY IN WESTERN ZONES. HAVE MAINTAINED SCATTERED POPS WESTERN HALF OF FORECAST AREA BUT KEPT OUT MENTION OF THUNDER. THIS REGION BLOOMS ACROSS NORTHERN ZONES DURING THE AFTERNOON MONDAY WITH REDEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS ONCE AGAIN. SNAKE PLAIN SHOULD STAY DRY IF MODELS HOLD TRUE BUT KEPT WEAK POPS ACROSS THE REGION IN CASE. AIR MASS AT THIS TIME APPEARS TO BE FAVORABLE FOR SUPPORTING STRONGER STORMS WITH POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE. WILL HOLD OFF FOR NOW ON ADDING GUSTY WINDS/SMALL HAIL TO WX GRIDS BUT CERTAINLY SEE THE POTENTIAL. ANOTHER WEAKER SHORTWAVE APPROACHES IDAHO LATE MONDAY NIGHT. TIMING APPEARS TO FAVOR REDEVELOPMENT ON TUESDAY BUT KEPT WEAK POPS GOING MONDAY NIGHT BETWEEN SYSTEMS FOR POTENTIAL TIMING DIFFERENCES. DMH .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH NEXT SATURDAY. MODELS KEEP A BROAD CYCLONIC CIRCULATION OVER THE AREA WITH A DEEPENING TROUGH ADVANCING INTO WA/OR BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. ACTIVE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEKEND. GFS AND ECMWF PUSH A SHORTWAVE THROUGH IDAHO WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THEN DEEPEN UPPER TROUGH INTO CALIFORNIA BY THURSDAY. GFS MAINTAINS A MORE ACTIVE NORTHERN BRANCH OF A SPLIT FLOW ON FRIDAY AND IS THUS A BIT WETTER THAN THE ECMWF HOWEVER THE ECMWF DOES EXPAND ITS QPF FIELD INTO IDAHO IN THE AFTERNOON WITH INSTABILITY AROUND PEAK HEATING. GFS MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH PATTERN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AND SUGGESTS DRIER WEATHER FOR NEXT WEEKEND. HINSBERGER && .AVIATION...WEAK UPPER SHORTWAVE RIDING OVER RIDGE WILL BE ENOUGH TO HELP TRIGGER SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. EXPECTING THIS INFLUENCE AT THE SURFACE WITH SOME GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL. FLIGHT CONDITIONS SHOULD REMAIN VFR THOUGH A HEAVY SHOWER OVER THE TERMINALS MAY BRIEFLY BRING LOWERED VIS. HINSBERGER && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 340 PM MDT SAT MAY 30 2015 IDZ022-302230- SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ID- 340 PM MDT SAT MAY 30 2015 ...HALF INCH HAIL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING AFFECTING CENTRAL CASSIA COUNTY UNTIL 430 PM MDT... AT 339 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR OAKLEY RESERVOIR...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL ALONG WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... OAKLEY RESERVOIR...OAKLEY...ALBION...ELBA AND MT HARRISON. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE. && LAT...LON 4211 11407 4228 11407 4247 11343 4215 11335 TIME...MOT...LOC 2139Z 254DEG 23KT 4221 11395 VALLE
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID 404 PM MDT SAT MAY 30 2015 IDZ017-021-302230- EASTERN MAGIC VALLEY ID-LOWER SNAKE RIVER PLAIN ID- 404 PM MDT SAT MAY 30 2015 ...PEA SIZE HAIL FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH AFFECTING SOUTHEASTERN BLAINE...NORTHEASTERN CASSIA...WEST CENTRAL POWER AND SOUTHEASTERN MINIDOKA COUNTIES UNTIL 430 PM MDT... AT 403 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR RUPERT...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... RUPERT...LAKE WALCOTT...MINIDOKA...ACEQUIA...PILAR BUTTE AND INTERSTATE 84 AND 86 JUNCTION. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE. && LAT...LON 4255 11364 4273 11371 4291 11315 4265 11304 TIME...MOT...LOC 2203Z 251DEG 34KT 4267 11358 VALLE
The Pocatello radar (KSFX), 10 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:11 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Large tree downed by thunderstorm winds in Sterling.
Fifty-nine mph wind gust at the Pocatello airport.
Six to 9 inch tree limbs blown off tree with 3 inch tree limb blown across road in Fort Hall.
Ten inch diameter by 15 foot long cottonwood branch blown down off tree by thunderstorm wind.
A trained spotter reported fallen branches from trees and one tree had fallen on a service line 2 miles west fo the Pocatello airport.
Large tree uprooted and downed due to thunderstorm winds near American Falls. Created 6 to 8 foot deep crater and landed on a home.
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, May 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: 581829, 581814, 581816, 581817, 581820, 581832.