A 28 year old man was killed snowboarding in a back country avalanche near Taylor Mountain and Teton Pass during the afternoon of April 1st. His rescue beacon was turned off.
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.
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 28 year old man was killed snowboarding in a back country avalanche near Taylor Mountain and Teton Pass during the afternoon of April 1st. His rescue beacon was turned off.
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 Apr 1, 12:30 PM MST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 130 PM MDT Wed Apr 1 2020 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Friday night. Early afternoon satellite imagery was showing a broad upper trough over the NW states while regional radar imagery was highlighting a band of light snow falling over the SE mountains within the baroclinic region situated on the leading edge of the upper trough. Further west toward Boise, radar returns were indicating isolated to scattered shower activity where incoming solar radiation was creating ample heating to support convection. Numerical models continue to support ongoing snow across the SE mountains this evening as the leading portion of the upper trough advances slowly south and east into Wyoming and NRN Utah. The models were also indicating that some convective activity may yet break out over the CNTRL mountains this afternoon and linger into the early evening hours (not feeling so sure about that part). We should see a decrease in precipitation activity after midnight. A secondary wave of energy rotating around the broad Canadian low circulates into the NW states Thursday afternoon helping to support and initiate afternoon shower activity favoring the mountains. Both the GFS and NAM were showing unstable conditions in the afternoon so have added the mention of thunder to a portion of the Snake River Plain and much of the SE mountains. A third wave of energy cycles around the low and through the region Friday supporting yet another round of afternoon snow showers favoring the mountains. The statistical guidance shows warming conditions Thursday into Friday and have opted to "cold trail" the guidance a couple of degrees especially with the Canadian low still influencing our weather. Huston .LONG TERM...Saturday through next Wednesday. It looks like split flow will return to the western states heading into next week. A weak storm swinging northeast Saturday and Sunday should provide a quick shot of rain and snow showers especially in the higher elevations. Quickly after that, a developing low over the West splits as it moves inland. The main low closes off across California early next week with the northern branch of this split slowly shifting across central and eastern Idaho. Despite differences between the main forecasts from the GFS and ECMWF, there is agreement that rain and snow showers are expected through Monday across our area. The Blend of Models, which includes ensemble forecasts, also agrees on increasing chances of rain and snow heading into Monday. Once the pattern fully splits, it appears that the closed low stays far enough south for just a few showers by midweek in the mountains...if even that. Keyes && .AVIATION...We continue to watch areas of rain and snow showers this afternoon. While the weather is mostly VFR, where heavier pockets of precipitation are occurring, ceilings or visibility immediately drop to IFR. We should see some improvement overnight, although showers are still possible. We will be watching a potential band of snow dropping southeast from the central mountains, across the Snake Plain and into the eastern highlands. IF this ends up developing, it would be closer to 3-6am to see that happen, impacting mostly PIH, IDA and DIJ. After that, look for more showers to develop Thursday afternoon. Keyes && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...None. &&
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
830 AM MDT WED APR 1 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0829 AM SNOW 6 S ST. ANTHONY 43.89N 111.68W
04/01/2020 M3.0 INCH MADISON ID TRAINED SPOTTER
SNOWFALL OVERNIGHT.
&&
MHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
837 AM MDT WED APR 1 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0836 AM SNOW 4 N ASHTON 44.13N 111.44W
04/01/2020 M3.0 INCH FREMONT ID EMERGENCY MNGR
OVERNIGHT.
&&
JKEYESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
1027 AM MDT WED APR 1 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 AM SNOW 4 NNE MENAN 43.77N 111.96W
04/01/2020 M1.0 INCH MADISON ID CO-OP OBSERVER
CO-OP OBSERVER STATION MEAI1 MENAN 4 NNE.
0830 AM SNOW 3 NNE DRIGGS 43.77N 111.08W
04/01/2020 M1.7 INCH TETON ID COCORAHS
COCORAHS STATION ID-TT-1 3 NNE DRIGGS.
0700 AM SNOW STANLEY 44.22N 114.93W
04/01/2020 M3.4 INCH CUSTER ID CO-OP OBSERVER
CO-OP OBSERVER STATION STAI1 STANLEY.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
A 28 year old man was killed snowboarding in a back country avalanche near Taylor Mountain and Teton Pass during the afternoon of April 1st. His rescue beacon was turned off.
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 | 2020-04-01 | 28 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, April 2020
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: 890139.