A strong upper low moved through the Inter mountain West kicking off strong to severe thunderstorms across parts of Southwest Idaho.
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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 BOI wrote it up.
A strong upper low moved through the Inter mountain West kicking off strong to severe thunderstorms across parts of Southwest 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 May 5, 2:12 AM MST, 2 hours 48 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boise ID 312 AM MDT Fri May 5 2017 .SHORT TERM...Today through Saturday...Isolated showers were developing and moving N-NE through SE Oregon this morning. The showers and isolated thunderstorms extend south into Western Nevada. The shower coverage will increase in SE Oregon and expand into SE Idaho later this morning, along with isolated thunderstorms. The activity is associated with an unstable air mass ahead of an approaching cold front. There is a threat for strong gusty winds to 50 mph and small hail with the stronger thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. The cold front will move through SE Oregon this evening and SW Idaho late tonight. Showers will continue in the cooler post-frontal regime through Saturday. The instability will shift east with the front, although a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms will exist in the proximity of the front - generally east of McCall, Boise, and Mountain Home. The post-frontal air mass will be much cooler and enhance the winds on Saturday, with breezy northwest winds arriving by afternoon. Temperatures will be warm ahead of the front today, with highs in the 70s to mid 80s. Temperatures will be 15-25 degrees cooler on Saturday with highs only in the 50s to mid 60s. .LONG TERM...Saturday night through Friday...The forecast area will remain on the northern fringe of a cutoff low centered well south of the area. Moisture wrapping around the north side of the cutoff low should reach...at best...as far north as southern Idaho with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Sunday but then remain south of the Idaho/Nevada border for the beginning of next week. Models for next week are in good agreement by building a weak upper ridge over the Pacific Northwest through Thursday before the next upper low approaches the West Coast introducing showers and potential thunderstorms by the weekend. After a cool down Sunday and Monday...temperatures should warm to a few degrees above normal for most of next week. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions. The atmosphere will be unstable with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms across eastern Oregon and Southwestern Idaho. Gusty winds to 45 mph with blowing dust including small hail are possible near thunderstorms. Southeast to Southwest surface winds 10 to 15 kts are expected with winds near 10kft similar directions at 15 to 25 kts. Winds across Eastern Oregon should shift Northwest with a cold front between 06/00z-06/03z and increase to 10 to 20 kts. && .BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. OR...None. && www.weather.gov/Boise www.facebook.com/NWSBoise www.twitter.com/NWSBoise SHORT TERM...BW LONG TERM....CR AVIATION.....CR
The Boise radar (KCBX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:01 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Social media reported a 60 foot tall Blue Spruce tree was uprooted near Parma.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, May 2017
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: 702491.