Lightning caused the Black Sand Fire near the St Anthony Sand Dunes, It burned 129 acres but firefighters stopped the spread rapidly. It began around 6 pm on August 28th and was contained on August 29th.
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The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.
Lightning caused the Black Sand Fire near the St Anthony Sand Dunes, It burned 129 acres but firefighters stopped the spread rapidly. It began around 6 pm on August 28th and was contained on August 29th.
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 Aug 28, 12:37 PM MST, 4 hours 23 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 137 PM MDT Fri Aug 28 2020 .DISCUSSION... Expecting fantastic late-summer weather for the rest of today and into Saturday. A line of light showers across northern Nevada may sneak into far SW portions of Cassia County later today but much of the area is expected to remain dry today and again tomorrow. Some patchy smoke remains possible areawide from regional fires the next few days until a strong cold front ushers in a much cooler airmass. Main concern the next few days will be associated with fire weather. See the fire weather discussion below for more details. Gusty winds will also be a concern Saturday but even more so for Sunday as a Wind Advisory may be needed across the Arco Desert or perhaps portions of the Snake Plain. Sunday will also be drastically cooler than Saturday with temperatures some 10-15 degrees. Cooler temperatures continue into Monday and Tuesday. A shortwave trough will swing through the region Monday afternoon aiding in the development of some scattered showers for the evening and overnight hours. This energy will depart to the east by daybreak Tuesday so expecting a dry, but still cool, Tuesday. By Wednesday, expect continued dry conditions as high pressure builds back in over the region with temperatures rising to around 10 degrees above normal by Friday. McKaughan && .AVIATION... Aviation concerns will be minimal through the period. We're watching a mid-level boundary draped across northern NV, and it's possible a shower or thunderstorm could sneak up on KBYI this afternoon and evening. Otherwise, a general haze will persist due to regional wildfires, but significant visibility reductions below VFR seem unlikely. Breezy conditions will develop Saturday afternoon, with W/SW winds in the 10-20 kt range common. This is ahead of an approaching strong cold front. Even windier conditions are expected beyond the end of the TAF period for Sunday, when gusts will top out in the 20-30kt range, with locally, occasionally higher gusts possible. AD && .FIRE WEATHER... We're watching a mid-level boundary draped across northern NV, and it's possible an isoalted shower or thunderstorm could sneak northward into 427 and far southern 413 late this afternoon and evening, but the probability seems low. Otherwise, attention turns to the approaching cold front and its associated wind and RH impacts. All existing Fire Weather Watches have been upgraded to Red Flag Warnings. We've started Saturday's Red Flag Warning for zones 475 and 476 2 hours earlier at 12PM, and ended it 2 hours later, ending at 12AM Saturday night/Sunday morning, as it appears the critical period for winds and RH will start a bit earlier and end a bit later. It appears 476 will see the best chance for the most widespread wind and RH issues, while it appears a bit more marginal across 475. With recent new fires in 475, potential for new holdover fires and to match with neighbors to the north, we opted to include 475. Farther south, the Arco Desert will likely experience critical wind and RH on Saturday as well, however opted to leave this zone out after collaboration with the East Idaho Dispatch Center. The much-advertised cold front will blast across the region on Sunday, and critical winds will develop during the morning across much of 410 and 425 as well as portions of 413 and 427. However, RH will be well above minimums until around 12PM, so have instead opted to begin this Red Flag Warning at Noon. Widespread westerly/west- southwesterly winds of 15-25 mph with gusts near 40 mph are expected across the warned areas. Winds and RH may also approach critical thresholds across 475 and 476, but should remain low enough to preclude an RFW. Much colder conditions will be heralded into the region on Monday, along with shower chances by afternoon, mainly across 475, 476, 411 and perhaps northern portions of 410. It's worth mentioning, snow levels Monday night drop just below 8,000 feet elevation, so light, high elevation snows aren't out of the question. The cooldown will be short-lived as a ridge of high pressure is slated to build into the region Wednesday, and likely last through the end of next week if not beyond. This will bring a return to warm and dry conditions. AD && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM MDT Sunday for IDZ410-413-425- 427. Red Flag Warning from noon Saturday to midnight MDT Saturday night for IDZ475-476. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning caused the Black Sand Fire near the St Anthony Sand Dunes, It burned 129 acres but firefighters stopped the spread rapidly. It began around 6 pm on August 28th and was contained on August 29th.
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, August 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: 916501.