Heavy snow fell in the central mountains of southeast Idaho.
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.
Heavy snow fell in the central mountains of southeast 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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 21, 2:10 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 210 PM MST Wed Feb 21 2018 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Sat night. A brief break tonight and Thu morning for most locations from the snow, but another weak trough with some fair moisture is expected to arrive mid-day to the forecast area. Only light snow, but getting to all elevations, with widespread 1 to 3 inches, with 1 to 2 in the Snake River plain from Thu mid-day through Fri mid-day. The hits keep on coming with another storm, much stronger and more moisture, arriving Sat morning, continuing through Sat night. This should at least be Winter Weather Advisory level for at least some locations. The Thu storm is slightly warmer with its track coming more from the west than storms have lately, so temperatures for most will feature a warming trend. Eastern Magic Valley expected to warm to slightly above freezing. Both storms have windy conditions (20 to 30 mph) in the post-front time period, so that would be Fri afternoon and Sat night. Messick .LONG TERM...Sunday Through Next Thursday. The long term period features a persistent upper-level trough in the western US, w/ periodic shortwaves/disturbances tracking SE from the northern Pacific and rounding the base of the trough near the 4- Corners region. This places SE Idaho in an active storm track that should continue beyond the end of the forecast period. Thus, the long term looks wet. High and low temps right through next week look to stay just cold enough to support all snow across the region, and in fact this afternoon's preferred model blend nudged high/low temps a degree or two colder every day from Sun onward. Our weekend storm system looks to continue into Sun. The GFS features a more pronounced trough that remains more progressive than the ECMWF, so there is some uncertainty as to how quickly precip will wind down. The Snake Plain and Central Mntns/Sawtooths have the best chance of drying out for a time Sun. Our next storm system arrives Sun eve/night. The GFS and EC show good agreement for now on the track of this fairly impressive trough and cold front, which may not fully cross the region until Tues afternoon. Early indications are that this system may bring yet another round of moderate to significant snow, especially to the western Sawtooths/Central Mntns (west of Challis and the Big Lost River valley), and the Upper Snake Highlands/mntns surrounding the Teton Valley and Palisades. Light accumulations cannot be ruled out at lower elevations as well. We will have to monitor model trends over the next several days. Windy conditions are also likely for the eastern Magic Valley, Snake Plain, and peaks/ridges region-wide Sun night into Mon eve. Mon night/Tues morning we attempt to dry out a bit, but with the slowly departing trough still in the vicinity, continued snow showers cannot be ruled out, especially in the mntns. Additionally, the GFS begins dumping moisture back into the region by Thurs morning. Thus, we carry generally low PoPs everywhere right through the end of the forecast period. - KSmith/Messick && .AVIATION...VFR continues this afternoon at all TAF sites this afternoon. We should see clouds between 2000-4000ft feet late tonight developing as the next storm approaches. Whether or not they qualify as MVFR or lower (scattered vs broken/overcast) will have to be watched closely. We think that we should actually go MVFR/high IFR after midnight at KSUN as moisture arrives there first, with even light snow of flurries developing. By early morning (10-13z), latest forecast trends show a more likelihood of IFR/LIFR weather with low ceilings and/or visibility with snow. The trend will continue eastward during the day. KBYI most likely between 15-17z, 18-20z at KPIH, and 20-23z for KIDA and KDIJ. Expect MVFR/IFR ceilings at these airports after these times. Keyes && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The following snow amounts were recorded at SNOTEL sites: Dollarhide Summit 12 inches, Galena Summit 10 inches, Lost Wood Divide 9 inches, and Vienna Mine 12 inches.
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, February 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: 742241.