Lightning caused a wildfire about 5 miles north of Carey on August 31st and it grew quickly to 3,000 acres. Full containment occurred on September 1st.
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.
Lightning caused a wildfire about 5 miles north of Carey on August 31st and it grew quickly to 3,000 acres. Full containment occurred on September 1st. Lava rock helped to contain further growth.
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 31, 1:18 PM MST, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 218 PM MDT WED AUG 31 2016 .Discussion...Low pressure trough will be moving inland tonight through Friday. Several surface waves will develop on the leading edge of the trough providing breeze afternoon winds Thursday and the strongest winds on Friday. A Lake wind Advisory may be issued for American Falls on Friday. The 12z model runs have backed off a little on winds for Friday, just enough to make it uncertain if a wind advisory will be needed. Satellite imagery this afternoon indicates some destabilization in NE Nevada up through about Carey. Expect some convection to develop the next couple of hours and gradually move east tonight. Thursday morning a new surface low generates and propagates northeast through the Snake Plain during the the day. Isolated thunderstorms expected in the Snake Plain and Eastern Highlands with this wave. Rather dry on Friday, but with cooler temperatures. Winds should be the biggest problem. The extended model continue to keep us under a broad low pressure trough for the next several days. Multiple embedded disturbance, one Sunday night/Monday, another Tuesday, followed by one Thursday. Each of these seem to track across the pan handle more than southern Idaho making it difficult to put high pops and rains in the forecast on any one day. At least temperatures will be closer to normal, if not a little below normal. RS && .AVIATION...Increasing winds this afternoon from the southwest to south-southwest will near 12 to 15 kts with gusts to 22 kts. Improving winds are expected between 03z and 06z below 10 kts. Today will generally be shower activity at KSUN and KBYI with only marginal instability across the region. Beginning late tomorrow morning however, increased chances for isolated thunderstorms are expected at all airport locations, a trend which will persist during the day. Primary threats will include gustier winds and briefly reduced visibility with thunderstorms passing through on station. NP/Survick && .FIRE WEATHER...Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Thursday evening for zones 422, 475, 476 for gusty winds and low relative humidities. At 3 p.m., Red Flag Warnings will go into effect for zone 413 and 427 for gusty winds and low relative humidities until 10 p.m. Scattered rain showers with a stray thunderstorm is also possible during this time with showers likely to persist during the overnight hours into Thursday morning. By 3 p.m. Thursday, a Fire Weather Watch will go into effect for these same zones (413 and 427) until 10 p.m. for outflow winds and scattered thunderstorms. Winds may gust in excess of 40 mph during this time frame. Additionally, zone 411 is under a Fire Weather Watch for outflow winds and scattered thunderstorms from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. The driving force behind these watches and warnings is a deep trough of low pressure to our west. Waves of energy are pushing eastward out ahead of the main wave, forecast to push southeastward in the form of a cold front on Friday. These smaller, weaker waves are providing increased cloud cover today and isolated showers. Increased winds this afternoon associated with said has brought 20 mph wind gusts so far this morning across portions of the Upper Snake Plain and Southern Highlands, a trend that will increase upwards to 25 mph or so. Tomorrow afternoon shall be similar with wind gusts to 30 to 35 mph in the Southern Highlands areas, primarily across zone 413. Otherwise, gusts near 25 to 30 mph are likely at their peak. Showers and thunderstorms are expected for tomorrow as well, primarily for the Eastern and Southern Highlands areas and in portions of the Snake Plain. CWR is between 5 and 15 percent and near 20 percent at ridge tops in these areas. Friday's cold front is on track to bring the strongest winds thus far with gusts exceeding 40 mph expected in the Central Mountains and Upper Snake Plain, and exceeding 30 mph across the Snake Plain and areas southwards. Expect winds to start increasing early morning, just after or near sunrise, and peak mid-afternoon. Little to no precipitation will fall with this front. Red Flag Warnings are likely to be issued on Friday for most Fire Weather Zones on Friday in the coming day. The weekend may bring some afternoon breezes to the Snake Plain zones with isolated showers across the Highland locations otherwise little concerns at this time. NP/Survick && .PIH Watches/Warnings/Advisories... Red Flag Warning until 10 PM MDT this evening for IDZ413-427. Fire Weather Watch from Thursday afternoon through Thursday evening for IDZ411-413-427. Red Flag Warning until 10 PM MDT Thursday for IDZ422-475-476. &&
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning caused a wildfire about 5 miles north of Carey on August 31st and it grew quickly to 3,000 acres. Full containment occurred on September 1st. Lava rock helped to contain further growth.
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: 658704.