A strong spring snowstorm spread heavy snow across parts of the northern Great Basin including South Central Idaho.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
A strong spring snowstorm spread heavy snow across parts of the northern Great Basin including South Central Idaho.
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 Apr 25, 2:34 AM MST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
334 AM MDT MON APR 25 2016
.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY...UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHERN
NEVADA DOMINATES THE WEATHER OVER THE REGION. MOISTURE ROTATING
NORTH AND WEST AROUND THIS LOW IS SPILLING INTO SOUTHERN IDAHO AND
SOUTHERN OREGON...RIGHT ALONG THE NEVADA BORDER. THIS MOISTURE...
COMBINED WITH STRONG UPSLOPE NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT...WILL CREATE
NUMEROUS SHOWERS ALONG THE NEVADA BORDER. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE
AROUND 4000 TO 5000 FEET...AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS
IN EFFECT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW ABOVE
ABOUT 4500 FEET. TROUBLE SPOTS COULD BE ALONG THE NORTHERN SLOPES
OF THE OWYHEE MOUNTAINS...HIGHWAY 93 NEAR JACKPOT NEVADA...AND
IDAHO STATE HIGHWAY 51 NEAR OWYHEE NEVADA. FURTHER NORTH AND
WEST...STRONG NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING SUSTAINED SURFACE
WINDS NEAR 30-35 MPH...WITH GUSTS ABOVE 40 MPH THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON IN THE TREASURE VALLEY OF IDAHO AND MUCH OF MALHEUR AND
BAKER COUNTIES IN OREGON. CONDITIONS IMPROVE THIS EVENING AS THE
LOW OVER NEVADA MOVES SLOWLY EASTWARD. ENOUGH RESIDUAL MOISTURE
CONTINUES TO ROTATE INTO THE MAGIC VALLEY ON TUESDAY THAT A CHANCE
OF SHOWERS REMAINS THERE...WITH BREEZY NORTHWEST WINDS AS WELL.
AFTER BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ON MONDAY...THEY REBOUND A BIT TO
NEAR NORMAL ON TUESDAY.
.LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH WILL BREAK OFF THE PARENT JET STREAM AND MOVE SOUTH ALONG THE
WEST COAST ON WEDNESDAY. AS THIS SYSTEM MOVES SOUTH INTO CALIFORNIA
IT WILL PROVIDE ENOUGH INSTABILITY ALOFT FOR SHOWERS TO DEVELOP EACH
AFTERNOON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS THE TROUGH MOVES ACROSS THE
GREAT BASIN. NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS OVER THE REGION
FRIDAY ALLOWING A WEAK COLD FRONT TO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION ON
SATURDAY MORNING. MOISTURE IS LIMITED WITH THIS FRONT AS IT MOVES
THROUGH SO PRECIPITATION WILL BE GENERALLY CONFINED TO THE WEST
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGING BUILDS ACROSS THE WEST
COAST ON SUNDAY BRINGING DRIER WEATHER. EXPECT TEMPERATURES
WARMING TO AROUND 5-10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL BY MONDAY.
&&
.AVIATION...GENERALLY VFR NORTH OF A LINE FROM KREO-KMUO-KJER.
WIDESPREAD RAIN AND SNOW ABOVE 5000FT SOUTH OF KREO-KJER LINE.
MOUNTAINS OBSCURED. SURFACE WINDS NORTHWESTERLY 15-25KT...WITH GUSTS
TO 40KT IN TREASURE VALLEY. WINDS ALOFT AT 10KFT MSL...NORTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST 20-35KT.
&&
.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...WIND ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING
IDZ012-014.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING TO MIDNIGHT MDT
TONIGHT IDZ015-029-030.
OR...WIND ADVISORY FROM NOON MDT /11 AM PDT/ TODAY TO 9 PM MDT /8 PM
PDT/ THIS EVENING ORZ062>064.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BOISE
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSBOISE
WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSBOISE
SHORT TERM...TB
LONG TERM....KA
AVIATION.....KAThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The coop observer at Murphy Hot Springs reported 8.2 inches of heavy, wet snow and a trained spotter at Riddle reported 6 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, April 2016
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: 622746.