Name: Winter Weather in Idaho, February 28, 2017
Start: 2017-02-28T13:00
End: 2017-02-28T21:00
Location: Idaho

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.

A quick moving storm brought snow and high winds to the Upper Snake Highlands on the last day of the month. 1 to 3 inches of snow fell with 30 to 40 mph wind gusts causing white out conditions. Idaho Highway 32 shut down on the afternoon of the 28th east of Ashton to the Wyoming border and the Ashton Elementary and North Fremont High School released students at 2 pm to ease travel concerns.

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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 28, 1:57 AM MST, 11 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 1:57 AM MST, 11 hours 3 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pocatello ID
157 AM MST Tue Feb 28 2017

.SHORT TERM...Today through Wednesday night. More light snow is
forecast today as the next "wave" moves across the state. The
target areas will be the Sawtooths and eastern highlands with 2-4"
possible. Other areas will see anywhere from a dusting to a
couple of inches tops. The bigger story today will be the return
of strong winds this afternoon. We are still looking at higher
speeds than yesterday, 20-30mph with higher gusts in most areas.
Sustained to 35mph with gusts of 40-50mph are expected for the
higher peaks of the central mountains and south central highlands.
The WIND ADVISORY for the Snake Plain is still a go with similar
speeds anticipated. Large vehicles will have a rough go of it
especially in crosswind situations. There will be some pockets of
blowing and drifting snow, creating low visibility and slick
spots. Winds should die down overnight, but stay on the breezy
side on Wednesday as well. Behind today's storm, we will switch to
northwest flow and a ridge building to our south. This will keep
some light snow showers going in the central mountains and eastern
highlands, but coverage will be on the decrease. A few showers are
also possible along/east of I-15 due to upslope conditions.
Temperatures will begin rising tomorrow afternoon, with several
areas pushing to the mid/upper 30s and likely kickstarting
snowmelt and the next round of lowland flooding.  Keyes

.LONG TERM...Thursday through Tuesday.

Weak northwest flow will keep low chances for snow showers across
portions of the central Idaho mountains and upper Snake highlands.
Temperatures will warm considerably Friday into Saturday with the
threat of lowland flooding returning. Next system arrives over the
weekend with an initial round of precipitation moving through Friday
night or Saturday with a larger batch of precipitation arriving
Sunday with the cold front. Monday continues to look mainly dry.
Models having difficulty determining how long and strong high
pressure system is for early next week. Potentially could have
another wet system arriving as early as Tuesday or could stay dry
through midweek.

Valle

&&

.AVIATION...Another storm system will bring windy conditions along
with snow showers to the region today. Expect reduced ceilings and
visibilities around snow showers.

Valle

&&

.HYDROLOGY...Cooler temperatures have helped to mitigate snow melt
issues. The next warm up comes late this week peaking on Saturday
with snow melt follow-through expected into Sunday. Huston

&&

.PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Advisory from noon today to 6 PM MST this evening for
IDZ020-021.

&&

Event by event

1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Upper Snake Highlands

When: February 28, 1:00 PM MST to 9:00 PM MST
Where: Upper Snake Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

A quick moving storm brought snow and high winds to the Upper Snake Highlands on the last day of the month. 1 to 3 inches of snow fell with 30 to 40 mph wind gusts causing white out conditions. Idaho Highway 32 shut down on the afternoon of the 28th east of Ashton to the Wyoming border and the Ashton Elementary and North Fremont High School released students at 2 pm to ease travel concerns.

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, February 2017

Sources

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: 682505.