Idaho, 2018

Dust Storm in Idaho, November 1, 2018

November 1, 2018 · NWS PIH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong cold front moved through eastern Idaho with strong winds behind it. Interstate 15 was closed due to blowing dust from 2 pm to 4 pm between exits 118 and 150.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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 strong cold front moved through eastern Idaho with strong winds behind it. Interstate 15 was closed due to blowing dust from 2 pm to 4 pm between exits 118 and 150. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were widespread.

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 Nov 1, 12:56 PM MST, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 1, 12:56 PM MST, 2 hours 4 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>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Upper Snake River Plain

When
November 1, 3:00 PM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where
Upper Snake River Plain forecast zone
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
43.805, -111.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong cold front moved through eastern Idaho with strong winds behind it. Interstate 15 was closed due to blowing dust from 2 pm to 4 pm between exits 118 and 150. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were widespread.

What these are

Dust Storm
Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, November 2018

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 792638.