Idaho, 2020

Dust Storm in Idaho, April 23, 2020

April 23, 2020 · NWS PIH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Interstate 86 closed interstate 86 for an 8 mile stretch from the Seagull Bay exit and the Arbon Valley exit between the Pocatello airport and American Falls. Numerous traffic accidents caused a pileup.

Where it happened

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  • Cold
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.

Interstate 86 closed interstate 86 for an 8 mile stretch from the Seagull Bay exit and the Arbon Valley exit between the Pocatello airport and American Falls. Numerous traffic accidents caused a pileup. Visibility was zero in blowing dust in 45 to 55 mph wind gusts which likely caused the accidents. Several personal vehicles and semi trucks were involved. Several injuries occurred and many individuals were transported to hospitals. No deaths occurred. One semi was carrying a load of fertilizer and this spilled. Hazmat crews were called in to respond to the chemical spill.

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 Pocatello, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 22, 12:53 PM MST, 21 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 12:53 PM MST, 21 hours 7 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Storm, Lower Snake River Plain

When
April 23, 10:00 AM MST to 8:00 PM MST
Where
Lower Snake River Plain forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
42.860, -112.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Interstate 86 closed interstate 86 for an 8 mile stretch from the Seagull Bay exit and the Arbon Valley exit between the Pocatello airport and American Falls. The interstate closed from 1230 PM MDT until 9 PM MDT. Numerous traffic accidents caused a pileup. Visibility was zero in blowing dust in 45 to 55 mph wind gusts which likely caused the accidents. Several personal vehicles and semi trucks were involved. Several injuries occurred and many individuals were transported to hospitals. No deaths occurred. One semi was carrying a load of fertilizer and this spilled. Hazmat crews were called in to respond to the chemical spill.

What these are

Dust Storm
Blowing dust that reduced visibility to a quarter mile or less.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, April 2020

Sources

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: 890566.