A drawn out storm system brought heavy snow to southeast Idaho from February 2nd through the 5th with road closures and school closings to go with the heavy snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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.
A drawn out storm system brought heavy snow to southeast Idaho from February 2nd through the 5th with road closures and school closings to go with the heavy snow.
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 2, 1:54 PM MST, 3 hours 6 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 154 PM MST Sat Feb 2 2019 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Monday. The first in a series of Pacific storm systems is expected to advance into SRN Idaho tonight with a warm moist flow advecting into the region followed by moderating/drier conditions Sunday as a second storm system sets up off the coast near Seattle. Storm total snowfall from this first system is expected to range from 6-10 inches across the CNTRL Idaho mountains tonight through Sunday and 5-9 inches across the ERN mountains tonight through noon Sunday. Snow levels are expected to gradually lower Sunday night and Monday as the second storm system drops south along the Oregon coastal waters resulting another round of moderate snowfall across the CNTRL and ERN mountains and perhaps as much as 1 to 3 inches in the Snake River Plain for the Monday morning commute. Have added a couple of the mountain-valley zones to the ongoing Winter Weather Advisory and if the snow levels continue to fall into Monday morning, I would anticipate adding the Snake Plain region and a portion of the SRN mountains to the mix as well. Snow levels will play a fairly critical role on whether that occurs or not. Stay tuned. Huston .LONG TERM...Monday night through Wednesday night. General guidance consensus through this time is in fairly good agreement in their depiction of a closed low propagation from near the Oregon coast Monday night to northern California by Tuesday night while weakening as it does so. Another feature of interest is a southern-moving strengthening trough across the western Canadian provinces Monday morning. This trough is forecast to continue its southern migration through the day on Tuesday, eventually absorbing the above-mentioned low. The two features are then forecast to evolve into a deep longwave trough across the intermountain west by Wednesday. As in any case where we're dealing with the phasing of two separate systems into one, there are significant detail differences that arise -- and those detail differences revolve around the placement and intensity of Precipitation. Due to these differences, uncertainty is high in the 'what, where, when' details at this stage. One certainty is that Temperatures will be cooling to below average through the period, and any lingering Rain should transition to Snow during the day on Tuesday as the atmospheric profile continues to cool. Given the existence of deep southerly flow ahead of the evolving low/trough, would expect enhanced Precipitation totals in favored upslope regions like the upper Snake River Plain, Arco Desert, Island Park and Pashimeroi regions. Guidance is also developing a band of heavy Precipitation, but depending on the model, this band develops Tuesday anywhere from over the Unitas to the Central Mountains, so will need to analyze additional guidance over the next few runs to better refine this feature. As the low/trough moves overhead Wednesday, the character of the Precipitation becomes more showery and Temperatures cool. We're also likely to see breezy W/SW winds across the Eastern Magic Valley and southern Snake River Plain. AD/Huston Wednesday night through next Saturday night. 500mb long wave forecast indicates a very weak pattern over the western states with low pressure remaining off the northern California coast. With weak pressure pattern, expect large differences among model solutions and large changes possible from one model run to the next. For today, both the GFS and the ECMWF have upper level ridging developing Wed night and continuing into Thu over the Gem State, for mainly dry and cold conditions with northerly flow. This is where similarities end. The ECMWF has a flatter, zonal pattern that continues to bring in waves of light precipitation, culminating in the strongest trough this period on Sat night. The GFS hangs onto the upper level ridge until Sat mid-day, with a break down of the ridge developing and spreading light precipiation into all but the southeastern corner, with the trough still to the west rather than onshore like the ECMWF. Messick && .AVIATION...Expect some deterioration in the CIG and VSBY this afternoon as the precipitation intensifies, but the real struggle will be tonight with a second wave that brings widespread IFR or worse, especially at KDIJ, which will likely be closed Sun morning. The snow level is high enough that KPIH and KBYI are facing just -RA and believe little impact on VSBY and maybe marginal VFR CIGs at these two airdromes. KIDA will have trouble; with snow on the ground and warm air advection, believe fog will be the biggest issue during the late night and morning hours. KSUN will also have problems, and will likely be shut down until mid-morning, when snow mixes with rain to raise VSBY and stronger wind raises the CIG. Messick && .AIR STAGNATION...Improving air quality is expected across Franklin County tonight as a storm system pushes into the region. Huston && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM MST Monday for IDZ066-067-069- 071>074. Winter Weather Advisory until noon MST Sunday for IDZ052-068-070-075. Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to noon MST Sunday for IDZ060>064. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
19 heavy snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The COOP observer at Bern reported 13.5 inches of snow with the storm with it falling on the 4th and 5th.
A strong storm system over multiple days brought 29 inches of snow to the Hilts Creek SNOTEL and 13 inches to the Meadow Lake SNOTEL.
Two day snow amounts were extremely heavy with 33 inches at the Emigrant Summit SNOTEL and 14 inches at the Franklin Basin SNOTEL.
A major winter storm over multiple days brought heavy snow, road closures and school closings. The Island Park COOP observer reported 17 inches of snow. SNOTEL amounts were: 28 inches at Crab Creek and 29 inches at White Elephant. Fremont County Joint School District 215 closed on the 4th due to the hazardous travel. State Highway 87 was closed from the US 20 intersection to the Montana border on the 3rd and 4th and US Highway 20 was closed on the same days from Ashton to the Montana border ,.
A multi day snow event brought 21.5 inches of snow to the Oxford Springs SNOTEL site. A tractor trailer jackknifed due to road conditions on interstate 15 near mile marker 20 and Malad blocking northbound lanes from 9 am to 1040 am on the 4th.
A multi day storm system brought 18 inches of snow to the Bostetter Ranger Station SNOTEL and 14 inches of snow to the Pomerelle Mountain Ski Resort.
The Vienna Mine SNOTEL recorded 24 inches of snow. The Stanley Ranger Station reported 6 inches.
A multiple day event brought significant snow to the Sun Valley Region. The Ketchum Ranger Station reported 12 inches of snow. SNOTEL amounts were the following: Dollarhide Summit 26.4 inches, Galena 11.2 inches, Galena Summit 19.3 inches, Hyndman 21.6 inches, and Lost Wood Divide 23.6 inches.
One foot of snow was recorded on the 4th and 5th at the Craters of the Moon COOP station .
The COOP site 6 miles north of Small recorded 11.5 inches of snow with the storm system and the Dubois observer measured 4.5 inches.
The Pine Creek Pass SNOTEL site recorded 15.5 inches of snow with the storm system.
Extremely heavy snow fell over the multiple day event with the following SNOTEL amounts recorded: Bear Canyon 17.2 inches, Smiley Mountain 11.8 inches, Stickney Mill 10.5 inches, Swede Peak 17.9 inches.
Very heavy snow fell over the multi-day system in the Blackfoot Mountains. The COOP observer in Bone reported 15 inches of snow. The public also reported over a foot of snow in Soda Springs. The Sheep Mountain SNOTEL recorded 21 inches. North Gem School District 149 was closed on the 5th due to very hazardous travel conditions.
The COOP observer at Swan Valley recorded 11 inches of snow. Heavy amounts at SNOTEL sites were 18.6 inches at Slug Creek Divide and 22.7 inches at Somsen Ranch. Idaho State Highway 34 was closed from mile post 70 near Blackfoot Reservoir to the Wyoming state line due to low visibility and drifting on the 4th.
The Mackay Lost River Station COOP site recorded 14 inches of snow over two days and the Mackay School District 182 was closed due to the heavy snow and hazardous travel on the 5th.
A very strong Pacific storm system lasted several days and brought extremely heavy snow to the Marsh and Arbon Highlands. Total snow amounts were 9 inches by the COOP observer in McCammon, 13 inches by the COOP observer in Inkom, 40 inches recorded at the Pebble Creek ski area at mountain top. SNOTEL amounts were 38 inches at Sedgwick Peak and 23 inches at Wildhorse Divide.
The Driggs COOP station reported 11 inches of snow from the multi day event.
A strong Pacific storm system brought a multi day snowstorm. Amounts were 13.4 inches at Bellevue reported by the COOP observer. A foot of snow was reported by several observers in the Hailey area.
A two day storm brought 3 to 6 inches of snow to the Upper Snake River Plain. Several crashes occurred in Idaho Falls on the 4th due to slushy roads.
An extensive storm system that lasted several days brought snow, wind and difficult travel to the Lower Snake River Plain. Several slideoffs were reported on the morning of the 4th off of interstate 15 south of Blackfoot. From the evening of the 4th through the morning of the 5th, 3 to 6 inches of snow fell in the Pocatello/Chubbuck region. The snow fell on top of rain and many roads froze underneath the snow and the icy conditions caused the cancellation of school on the 5th for Pocatello Chubbuck School District 25 along with many private schools in Pocatello.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, February 2019
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: 809460, 809491, 809467, 809482, 809490, 809519, 809521, 809523, 809464, 809469, 809472, 809475, 809477, 809479, 809493, 809509, 809526, 809528, 809531, 809495.