Snow and wind caused schools to shut down early in Minidoka County on December 12th at 1:30 PM MST.
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.
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.
Snow and wind caused schools to shut down early in Minidoka County on December 12th at 1:30 PM MST.
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 Dec 12, 3:10 AM MST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 310 AM MST Wed Dec 12 2018 .SHORT TERM...Through Thursday night. Fast-moving but potent system is forecast to plow eastward though Idaho today. Radar returns are beginning to blossom across SE Idaho, and Snow is rapidly spreading eastward. Snow should reach the I-15 corridor between 4AM and 6AM this morning, and will be heaviest during much of the morning commute. Snow should then reach the Preston and Bear Lake areas around or just after Sunrise. Although the fast- moving nature of this system will limit overall Snowfall amounts, significant vertical motion and an elevated convective component will lead to heavy bursts of snow at times. In addition, strong, gusty winds will develop as the morning progresses, especially from Burley to Pocatello and points south. This will likely lead to areas of blowing Snow. For these reasons, we want to shift the focus away from amounts, and consider the fact that locally heavy snow will fall coincident with portions of the morning commute across SE Idaho's heaviest traveled corridors, namely I-15 including Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Highway 20 from Idaho Falls to Rexburg. This will lead to reduced visibilities and slick driving conditions. The next few hours will be the highest impact period during the short term. High resolution model guidance depicts a sharp back edge to the Precipitation shield, thus Snow will quickly end from west to east. Snow should end across the Sawtooths/Central Mountains by Noon, and between 8AM and 11AM from the Arco Desert east to the I-15 corridor, ending first across the Arco Desert and around 11AM across the Interstate Corridor. Will see Snow Showers persist for higher terrain areas east of I-15 through the Afternoon. West winds to 45 mph (likely higher for Yale and Idahome along I-84) will ramp up by mid-morning and continue through the Afternoon. For this reason, have extended existing Winter Weather Advisory from Pocatello to Burley and points south through 5PM to account for lingering effects of wind and resultant blowing snow. Have made no other changes to existing headlines. Dry conditions are forecast for Thursday and Friday. Patchy Fog is possible across portions of the Arco Desert and Snake Plain Thursday morning. Seasonably cold Temperatures for Thursday with a modest warming trend expected to commence Friday. AD/RS .LONG TERM...Friday through Tuesday. Models are consistent with a minor disturbance moving quickly through this area Friday night and early Saturday time period. Snow accumulation of only an inch or so is expected and that is for the mountains. There is little consensus among the models Saturday and beyond. Disturbances moving on shore show a tendency to split, with a southern branch oriented disturbance tracking south of Idaho. The northern branch of the split varies in strength and the amount of moisture available. Kept a slight chance of precipitation in the forecast on Monday and Tuesday, since the models lean a bit more towards unsettled than completely dry. RS && .AVIATION...MVFR to IFR conditions in snow at KSUN should end about 16Z. Activity is just now moving into the rest of the TAF sites and should clear KIDA and KPIH about 17Z. Strong westerly winds 20 to 30 kts will contribute to blowing and drifting snow today, and diminishing with sunset this evening. RS && .AIR STAGNATION...A persistent area of high pressure over the past few days had lead to a degradation of air quality due to inversions across Franklin County. With the approach of the incoming system, air quality has improved because inversions have eroded. May see the Advisory lifted this morning as a result, although this decision lies with the DEQ. Inversions will re- develop Thursday and continue through the week, perhaps leading to air quality worsening once again. AD/NP/DH && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon for IDZ054>064-066. Winter Weather Advisory until 11 AM MST this morning for IDZ053- 065-071>073. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snow and wind caused schools to shut down early in Minidoka County on December 12th at 1:30 PM MST.
Snow and wind caused schools to shut down early in Minidoka County on December 12th at 1:30 PM MST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2018
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: 799075, 799076.