Idaho, 2017Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 28 to 29, 2017
December 28 to 29, 2017 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones
A prolonged period of moderate to heavy snow caused difficult travel conditions and sporadic power outages across central Idaho. While lower elevations experienced a mixture of snow, rain and freezing rain, the combination of rain and snow melt led to water on roadways in a few places.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
A prolonged period of moderate to heavy snow caused difficult travel conditions and sporadic power outages across central Idaho. While lower elevations experienced a mixture of snow, rain and freezing rain, the combination of rain and snow melt led to water on roadways in a few places.
What forecasters said that day
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 28, 3:14 AM PST, 9 hours 46 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 28, 3:14 AM PST, 9 hours 46 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>In the hours before
Local storm report, Dec 28, 7:11 AM PST, 5 hours 49 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Local storm report, Dec 28, 7:12 AM PST, 5 hours 48 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Local storm report, Dec 28, 7:13 AM PST, 5 hours 47 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Heavy Snow, Northern Clearwater Mountains
- When
- December 28, 1:00 PM PST to December 29, 11:00 PM PST
- Where
- Northern Clearwater Mountains forecast zone
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 46.674, -115.657 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
About 3 feet of snow was reported at Elk River with power outages in the area. For the lower elevations, freezing rain was reported. Also there was minor flooding due to blocked culverts in portions of western Clearwater County.
Winter Storm, Southern Clearwater Mountains
- When
- December 29, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 PM PST
- Where
- Southern Clearwater Mountains forecast zone
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 45.844, -115.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
In Elk City, heavy snow brought down power lines and trees causing an extended power outage that lasted for three days from 11 am PST on the 28th to 10 am PST on the 30th. Heavy wet snow also caused several power outages in the Lower Middlefork, Lowell, Selway and Tahoe areas. The Idaho Transportation Department reported 37 inches at the Powell Shed. Around 22 inches of snow was reported at Lolo Pass, between 14 and 18 inches of snow fell in Elk City and the Dixie COOP reported 11 inches over 3 days. For the lower elevations, Kooskia saw 6 inches of heavy wet snow while freezing rain was reported on highway 12 with several trees down near Lowell.
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Winter Weather in Minnesota, December 28, 20171 death · $500 · 1 event
- Winter Storm and Avalanche in Montana, December 28 to 30, 2017$25,000 · 9 events
- Heavy Snow in Washington, December 28 to 30, 201721 events
- Ice Storm and Debris Flows in Idaho, December 28 to 30, 2017$2,000 · 17 events
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 28 to 30, 20175 events
- Extreme Cold in Maine, December 28, 20174 events
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Wyoming, December 28 to 30, 201783 kt wind · 4 events
- Winter Storm in Montana, December 28 to 31, 20174 events
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Washington, December 28 to 29, 20174 events
- Extreme Cold in New York, December 28, 20172 events
- Extreme Cold in Maine, December 28 to 29, 20172 events
- High Wind in Alaska, December 28, 201773 kt wind · 1 event
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 726361, 726362.