Idaho, 2019Flood in Idaho, April 9 to 13, 2019
April 9 to 13, 2019 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone
Moderate to heavy rainfall combined with snow melt contributed to flooding, mud-slides and road wash-outs and closures. 79 feet on the morning of April 9 which contributed to the town of Stites being flooded.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $6.0 million
- 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.
Moderate to heavy rainfall combined with snow melt contributed to flooding, mud-slides and road wash-outs and closures. More specifically, the South Fork of the Clearwater River saw an all-time record crest of 10.79 feet on the morning of April 9 which contributed to the town of Stites being flooded. Damages to Idaho County infrastructure from this event have totaled to around 6 million dollars.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 9, 1:24 AM PST, 11 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 9, 1:24 AM PST, 11 hours 21 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
324 AM MDT Tue Apr 9 2019
.DISCUSSION...
This morning the atmospheric river that has been affecting the
region for a few days now starts to move to the southeast and out
of the region. However, as it does there is a low pressure system
that starts to spin up just east of the Continental Divide and
wraps the moisture around and back into western Montana. Meanwhile
it takes enough time for the atmospheric river to move across and
out of Idaho County, ID that many locations there could see
another 1 to 2 inches of rain before it stops.
The main impacts for central Idaho will be hydrologic and will be
discussed in more detail in the hydrology section below.
In western Montana, snow levels are becoming a bigger concern.
While we've known for quite some time that mountain passes will be
affected by snow, the impacts were limited to a relatively small
stretch of highway just around the pass in most cases. An area of
growing concern is from Anaconda west and north through Georgetown
Lake and Phillipsburg. This region increasingly looks to be at the
confluence of heavy precipitation and the arrival of cooler air
potentially allowing for several inches of snow tonight. During
the day warmer temperatures and sunshine will keep the impacts to
roads at a minimum, but tonight could see significant travel
impacts in this area.
Wednesday across the region the precipitation will slowly taper
down as the region transitions to unstable northwest flow. This
will be a cool and showery period with frequent mountain showers
and occasional impacts to the valleys. The cool, showery period is
expected to last through the weekend. Though it will be showery,
the region will NOT be under the influence of an atmospheric river
anymore, so rain amounts will be much less.
&&
.AVIATION...Pacific moisture and accompanying precipitation will
continue to stream across the region into Wednesday. This will
result in periodic MVFR and occasional IFR ceilings and visibility
for terminal sites with mountain obscurations common. The heavier
precipitation will focus from I-90 southward through Wednesday
with snow levels around 5500 feet.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...Central Idaho and Idaho County remain the focus for
flooding concerns. Last night the South Fork of the Clearwater
River reached flood stage and a warning was issued. Snotel
stations, such as at Pierce, ID, show several inches of water
remain on the ground in the form of snow at elevations as low as
3,000 ft. They also show that is has begun to melt. This in
combination with roughly an inch of rain expected in the next 24
hours and 1.5 to 2 inches in total in the next 48 hours is causing
flooding concerns.
So far the South Fork of the Clearwater near Stites is the only
main stem river expected to flood, though we are also concerned
for Orofino Creek. Orofino Creek recently peaked and has begun to
come back down a little. However, considering the snow conditions
at Pierce and the rain forecast, it will begin to rise again. And
these are just the locations where we have river observations,
small streams in general will have high flows and flood potential
through at least Wednesday. A flood watch remains in effect for
all of Idaho and Clearwater counties. The end of the atmospheric
river tonight and some cooler overnight temperatures later this
week will help conditions improve by the end of the week.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...None.
ID...Flood Watch through this afternoon Orofino/Grangeville Region.
&&
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 9, 8:17 AM PST, 4 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1017 AM MDT TUE APR 9 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1013 AM FLOOD STITES 46.09N 115.98W
04/09/2019 IDAHO ID COUNTY OFFICIAL
RECEIVED SEVERAL REPORTS OF WATER ON THE
ROAD FROM THE SOUTH FORK OF THE CLEARWATER
RIVER IN STITES, IDAHO. ALSO SOME HOMES HAVE
WATER IN THEM. THE RIVER LEVEL BROKE ITS
RECORD CREST THIS MORNING AND IS CURRENTLY
SITTING AT 10.77 FEET. THE RECORD CREST SET
IN 1964, WAS 10.30 FEET.
&&Local storm report, Apr 9, 8:23 AM PST, 4 hours 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1023 AM MDT TUE APR 9 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1022 AM DEBRIS FLOW EAST KAMIAH 46.20N 116.01W
04/09/2019 IDAHO ID DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
HIGHWAY 12 NEAR KAMIAH, IDAHO IS CLOSED DUE
TO A LANDSLIDE.
&&Flood, Idaho
- When
- April 9, 12:45 PM PST to April 13, 8:00 AM PST
- Where
- Idaho County, 2.98 mi ENE of Mt Idaho to 4.83 mi S of Tramway
- Cause
- Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
- Property damage
- $6.0 million
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 45.920, -116.025
The South Fork of the Clearwater River at Stites, crested at a record level of 10.79 feet on the morning of April 9. This led to flooding of 3 to 5 homes along the west side of the river along North River Road. A torrent of fast-moving water developed in an unnamed gulch located east of Stites along Stites Grade Road and this led to the closure of Idaho Highway 13 and the flooding of Stites. Approximately 30 to 50 homes were affected by the flooding in the town of Stites with many wells contaminated and the National Guard rescued two people who were trapped in their home. Very large mud-slides caused US-12 to close between Orofino and Kamiah from April 9 to April 13. A home in Syringa was flooded by a debris flow and US-12 between Kooskia and Syringa experienced erosion and water running on the road leading to the closure of Highway 12. Clear Creek, located approximately 2 miles southeast of Kooskia, washed out two private bridges, flooded approximately 5 homes, destroyed a trailer home, and damaged county road Clear Creek Road. The Nez Perce U.S. Forest Service closed Smith Creek Road due to flooding of the Little Smith Creek causing a washout. Numerous other bridges, culverts and roads were washed out across Idaho County.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Rip Current in California, April 9, 20191 death · 1 event
- Flash Flood and Hail in Georgia, April 9, 2019$5.1 million · 1 in hail · 6 events
- Flash Flood and Flood in Washington, April 9 to 10, 2019$1.1 million · 2 events
- Flash Flood and Debris Flow in Idaho, April 9 to 11, 2019$362,000 · 6 events
- Flood in Washington, April 9 to 12, 2019$152,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, April 9, 2019$100,000 · 1.25 in hail · 2 events
- High Wind and Strong Wind in California, April 9, 2019$26,000 · 69 kt wind · 18 events
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, April 9 to 12, 201924 events
- Dense Fog in Kentucky, April 9, 201916 events
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Utah, April 9 to 11, 201953 kt wind · 11 events
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Wyoming, April 9 to 11, 20196 events
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Nevada, April 9, 2019$11,000 · 52 kt wind · 4 events
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: 814194.