A snow mobiler died in an avalanche that occurred around 6 pm on the 25th near Palisades Lake in Bonneville County near the Wyoming border. A 35 year old male died din the avalanche that occurred near Palisades Lake.
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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 snow mobiler died in an avalanche that occurred around 6 pm on the 25th near Palisades Lake in Bonneville County near the Wyoming border. A 35 year old male died din the avalanche that occurred near Palisades Lake.
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 25, 2:57 PM MST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 257 PM MST Fri Jan 25 2019 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Sunday Night. Snow is falling across our northeastern zones of the forecast area. We're seeing visibilities under 1 mile at times from Island Park through Driggs and near Pine Creek Pass. This is all evolving according to the forecast inherited this morning as a shortwave trough swings through northwest Wyoming. With a boost provided aloft from the left exit region of an entering jet streak, we should see a few inches of fresh snow from Island Park south along the Wyoming border through tonight. Impacts will be limited to the high terrain east of I-15, however, as there is a dearth of moisture west. Tonight, expecting some patchy fog to again develop through the Snake Plain. We'll need to monitor closely for any potential related headlines or SPSs. Little change is then necessary to the forecast through the weekend as our area remains in limbo between a ridge of high pressure west and a seemingly ever-deepening low to our east. This Sporadic waves and modest moisture could spell snow chances through the weekend along and near the Yellowstone area, but little to no chances elsewhere until the next organized wave arrives Sunday evening. TAX .LONG TERM...Monday Through Next Friday. A nearly stationary, longwave ridge will be parked just off the Pacific coast as we kick off the new work week, with a nearly stationary, longwave trough sitting to our east over the central and eastern Continental USA. A north to northwest flow between these two features will direct a bit of an active storm track across the northern Plains, with our SE Idaho forecast area generally sitting on the western periphery of this storm track. The pattern is going to keep our weather low-impact Mon through Wed, although that northerly flow will allow colder air to penetrate southward into our region. High temperatures Mon and Tues will fall 7-10 degrees over Sun (generally in the 20s), with morning lows Tues morning in particular falling into the single digits. Readings of 0 to -10 are likely in normally cold locales such as Stanley and the Copper Basin, as well as across the Upper Snake Highlands and Teton Valley. This will especially be the case if skies can predominantly clear, which is currently indicated by our guidance blends. A few more clouds may allow lows Wed morning to run just a few degrees warmer. The only precip expected over the 3 days will be lingering snow showers Mon morning from the central mntns to areas generally east of I-15 with the shortwave trough moving through. Was a bit more liberal with broadbrushing light PoPs this period (15-35%), before rapidly tapering things down by lunch or early afternoon as the shortwave axis departs to the SE. Additional accumulations of an inch or less are expected Mon morning. While dry conditions are expected Mon afternoon through Wed, some NW flow moisture MAY brush light snow showers across the Island Park region Wed afternoon. Confidence in this second bit of precip is low, but should be light/low-impact regardless. From Wed afternoon onward, our overall pattern will change. Long- range models continue to consistently signal the long-wave pattern will start to move, with the Pacific ridge tracking inland. Although this should allow a gradual warming trend for the second half of the week, that's where our forecast confidence ends. 12Z runs of the GFS, ECMWF, and Canadian are all over the place, with the GFS favoring a cleaner (drier) ridge advancing across the Rockies, and the EC rolling a closed (although weakening) low inland across CA and NV Thurs with much more precip. The Canadian seems to lean toward the GFS solution, but both the EC and Canadian paint snow showers across our eastern highlands Thurs night/Fri morning. Massive placement differences are noted as well between the GFS/EC for another potential system approaching by Sat morning. Generally used a blend of the NBM with varying degrees of the GFS/EC for this portion of the week, but broadbrushed everything out and capped PoPs at about 35% or less considering the model uncertainty. Expect forecast changes in the days ahead as hopefully the models converge on a solution. - KSmith/TAX && .AVIATION... Ongoing snow activity at KDIJ should gradually wind down over the next several hours. Our current TEMPO group ending at 23Z may need to be extended a bit longer depending on how the radar trends, but gradual improvement in the worst vsbys has begun. Low stratus is again expected late tonight and Sat morning at KPIH, KIDA, and KDIJ, with very saturated near-surface conditions on NAM time- heights/BUFKIT soundings and support from MOS guidance. MVFR conditions are likely at KPIH, with IFR conditions possible at KIDA and KDIJ with better fog potential at these terminals as well. Winds look quite light which may also help support fog, similar to what we saw earlier this morning if not a bit more coverage. KIDA may again drop to near airfield minimums if fog indeed develops over the terminal, and we currently are siding with that solution in the TAF. KBYI and KSUN should generally remain VFR. Gradually improving cigs/vsbys are expected late Sat morning/Sat afternoon. - KSmith/TAX && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
A snowmobiler died in an avalanche that occurred around 6 pm on the 25th near Palisades Lake in Bonneville County near the Wyoming border. A 35 year old male died din the avalanche that occurred near Palisades Lake.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, Big Hole Mountains | 2019-01-25 | 35 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 802250.