A strong thunderstorm wind downed a tree at the Pine Street and McKinley Avenue in Pocatello. There were reports of other downed trees in Pocatello.
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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.
A strong thunderstorm wind downed a tree at the Pine Street and McKinley Avenue in Pocatello. There were reports of other downed trees in Pocatello.
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 Aug 17, 11:42 AM MST, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 1242 PM MDT WED AUG 17 2016 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Sunday...Scattered showers and thunderstorms expected across the Central Mountains and Southern Highlands for this evening with improving conditions after 10 pm MDT, though an isolated shower or thunderstorm cannot be ruled out overnight. Wind gusts up to 20 mph possible with light rainfall amounts of less than 0.10 inches in individual cells. Small hail is also possible. It is likely that another round of shower and thunderstorm activity will occur on Thursday and will probably begin earlier in the day compared to today. Therefore, expect thunderstorms in the morning for those along the Divide, Island Park, and in the northern Snake Plain. This activity will push southwards through the day. A cold front will be progressing southwards through SE Idaho on Friday, decreasing temperatures 5 to 10 degrees in its wake. High temperatures Friday are expected to be in the low to mid 80s across the Snake River Plain with lower temperatures elsewhere. A gradual warming trend is expected over the weekend with temperatures back into the upper 80s to low 90s by Sunday. Behind the front, expect wind speeds to increase upwards of 15 to 25 mph with higher gusts to 35 mph at times. Northerly winds will increase at first along the Divide and in the Central Mountains early Friday and continue to push southwards during the day. Only isolated showers are forecast with the actual passage of this front. .LONG TERM...Monday through Wednesday...Approaching upper trough expected early next week though amplitude of this wave differs a bit between global forecast models. GFS model currently shows the wave to be relatively strong and thus brings SE Idaho strong 15 to 20 mph afternoon winds Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Hints of precipitation are noted Monday through Wednesday across the Southern and Eastern Highland locations as well. With the ECMWF solution, precipitation is noted Monday afternoon only, in these same locations, and winds closer to 10 to 15 mph are noted with weaker amplified trough. A weak, broad trough to the west may bring isolated showers to the region late week. NP/Hedges && .AVIATION...Disorganized, orographically forced convection is expected today while stubborn upper troughing remains over Nevada. Will keep VCTS mention in TAFs, and wouldn't be surprised if terminals are occasionally impacted by strong outflow winds. Smoke from the increasing number of wildfires may also pose a challenge to visibility at the sites, though we are expecting things to remain predominantly VFR. Showers/isolated thunderstorms could linger through the overnight hours into tomorrow morning. Hinsberger && .FIRE WEATHER...Concern today will be thunderstorm coverage. Continuing with isolated to widely scattered wording. Convection is already underway along our southern and eastern borders as of noon today. Models all suggest disorganized pulse convection, mainly developing over the mountains. The 17Z HRRR favors convection over the Central Mountains this afternoon, but is slow in picking up on current convective trends. Storms will likely generate strong outflow winds. Forecast tomorrow is even less certain as to where thunderstorms will initiate. GFS favors the Central Mountains, and the NAM favors the Southeastern Highlands. A cold front is expected to enter the area Thursday night into Friday, shifting winds northeasterly. Wind gusts will generally be 20 to 25 mph for fire weather zones 410 and 411, but Red Flag potential will be assuaged by the higher humidity. The 12Z GFS solution, however, shows less influence of the cold front over Idaho and pushes the system further into Wyoming. Dry and stable weather should prevail over the weekend into early next week. Hinsberger && .PIH Watches/Warnings/Advisories... None. &&
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
1226 PM MDT WED AUG 17 2016
IDZ022-171900-
SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ID-
1226 PM MDT WED AUG 17 2016
...DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM MAY PRODUCE DIME SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN
EXCESS OF 30 MPH IN WEST CENTRAL CASSIA COUNTY UNTIL 100 PM MDT...
AT 1224 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 14
MILES NORTHWEST OF OAKLEY RESERVOIR. THIS STORM WAS NEARLY
STATIONARY...TRACKING SLOWLY TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST.
DIME SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
THIS STORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL CASSIA
COUNTY.
THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND
TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
LAT...LON 4231 11428 4242 11418 4242 11408 4226 11392
4219 11417
TIME...MOT...LOC 1824Z 233DEG 4KT 4228 11417
NP/HEDGESThe Pocatello radar (KSFX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:13 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A strong thunderstorm wind downed a tree at the Pine Street and McKinley Avenue in Pocatello. There were reports of other downed trees in Pocatello.
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, August 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: 658412.