A wet Pacific system brought snow, freezing rain and rain with many changes in type in low elevations of the Snake River Plain during the three days with mostly snow in higher elevations. Extensive travel problems were caused by the system with school closures on both the 17th and 18th.
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The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.
A wet Pacific system brought snow, freezing rain and rain with many changes in type in low elevations of the Snake River Plain during the three days with mostly snow in higher elevations. Extensive travel problems were caused by the system with school closures on both the 17th and 18th.
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 Jan 16, 4:08 AM MST, 5 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 408 AM MST Wed Jan 16 2019 .SHORT TERM...Today through Friday. Light snow has started this morning from around Burley to Inkom, southward. Expect this snow to continue to expand slightly northward before expanding mostly to the northeast. In general looking for 1 to 3 inches with slightly higher amounts in the mountains. During the morning commute snow will be mostly impacting the Eastern Magic valley and the Snake river southward to the Utah line impacting I-84 from Burley to the Utah line as well I-15 to around Idaho Falls. I-86 from Pocatello to Burley will see snow as well but should be around an inch or less. An winter weather ADVISORY remains in place as snow falls during the morning commute. Snow moves into the Eastern Highlands later this morning into the afternoon with amounts in the 1 to 3 inch range with slightly higher amounts for some mountain areas. A stronger system moves into the area on Thursday. Beginning very early Thursday, freezing rain will be possible across the Eastern Magic Valley along the interstate corridor and toward Pocatello, Fort Hall and Blackfoot by sunrise. This will create hazardous travel conditions before the morning commute. Snow levels will rise by mid to late morning to around 5000 feet. Expect snow or a rain/snow mix for the 84/86 corridor in the morning and then switch to rain by late morning due to warmer temperatures and downslope winds. Rain on snow below 5000 feet will cause ponding or standing water in low lying areas and areas where drains are blocked. Look for 8 to 12 inches of snow for the Central mountains, Island Park area, Centennial Mountains/Island Park, Big Holes, Caribou Range, and the Bear River Range. A winter weather watch is out for heavy snow and blowing and drifting of snow for these areas. Other mountain areas will see 3 to 8 inches of snow above around 5000 feet. Winds will pick up as well particularly Thursday afternoon, which will cause patchy blowing and drifting snow. Friday light to moderate snow will continue in Northwest flow mainly impacting the Western Central mountains and the Eastern Highlands along the Wyoming border. Expect temperatures near normal to slightly above normal today before rising 6 to 12 degrees above normal Thursday before cooling down slightly, but still remain slightly above normal on Friday. TW .LONG TERM...Friday night through next Wednesday. Highlights: Unsettled weather continues Reinforcing shots of colder air early next week A brief lull in precipitation is expected late Friday heading into Saturday with one system departing and shortwave ridging nosing in. This will allow temperatures to creep up above seasonal averages, but this will be short-lived. The first of two additional systems arrives Sunday, but the moisture stream will commence earlier. This should result in at least some snow chances getting into the Sawtooths, central mountains and along the Montana divide by Saturday. Aside from some subtle timing differences among deterministic models and their ensemble brethren, confidence in structure and evolution is rather high. With this in mind, have bolstered winds a PoPs up a bit from Blend numbers. Still a little too early to talk totals, but if current model trends hold, we'll be looking at additional headlines for Sunday into Monday morning. As one may expect models begin to diverge some heading into the bulk of next week, but not a lot. There is still the idea of another mid- week system streaming into the deep central CONUS trough the sets up as a result of the Sunday/Monday system. This looks like yet another shot of precipitation areawide with another wave of cold air behind it. We'll be watching these two systems come into focus later this week, but we do have quite a bit of impactful weather in the near term. TAX && .AVIATION...Fairly complex aviation forecast over the next 24-48 hours as two systems cross the area. The first, taking shape south of BYI/PIH this morning will spread snow northward through the day today. Expecting ceilings to drop into at least MVFR if not IFR along with vis reductions in snow. Think brief periods of moderate snow could drop visibility down to a mile or so for IDA/SUN/DIJ through midday. The next, broader and stronger system arrives late tonight. Near surface temperatures will play a large role in just what falls through the Snake Plain. While BYI/PIH will warm enough to support rain by Thursday, there could be a brief period of freezing rain late tonight or early Thursday morning. IDA will be on the cusp of rain by Thursday afternoon, and SUN/DIJ should remain firmly in snow. Regardless, this potent winter storm will bring widespread restrictions early Thursday, lasting into Friday. TAX && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Watch from this evening through Friday morning for IDZ060-063-064-066-072>074. Winter Weather Advisory until 11 AM MST this morning for IDZ057>060. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Spotters reported 9 to 10 inches of snow in Hailey with the Bellevue COOP observer reporting 8.3 inches. The Picabo COOP observer had 5.0 inches.
The Ketchum Ranger Station COOP observer reported 13.5 inches of snow from the 3 day winter storm.
The Bern COOP observer reported 9.0 inches from the winter storm over the two day period.
A long drawn out system brought a variety of weather to the Lower Snake River Plain. Freezing rain caused schools to close on the 17th for Blackfoot School District 55 and Snake River School District 52. Many private schools also closed in Blackfoot and Bingham County on the 17th. Precipitation was rain for much of the 17th then changed to snow during the overnight and morning period of the 17th and 18th. A burst of heavy snow brought 2 to 4 inches on the morning of the 18th to the Pocatello and Chubbuck and Fort Hall areas and the heavy snow on rain that froze caused very icy roads and Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 closed on the 18th. Many other schools in Pocatello and Fort Hall also closed due to the conditions.
A winter storm brought freezing rain on the 17th to the Upper Snake River Plain. Many private schools closed in Idaho Falls on the 17th with many of the public schools remaining open. A Jefferson County school bus collided with a semi truck around 7:27 AM MST just north of Osgood on the icy interstate. Another semi truck crashed south of Idaho Falls near mile post 106. Multiple slideoffs reported between Blackfoot and Idaho Falls. Heaviest reported snowfall with the system was 4.0 inches by the Saint Anthony COOP observer.
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, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 802234, 802235, 802236, 802232, 802233.