A dynamic cold front swept through Southwest Idaho with high winds, damage and dust storms.
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 BOI wrote it up.
A dynamic cold front swept through Southwest Idaho with high winds, damage and dust storms.
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 Boise, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 6, 1:53 AM MST, 6 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Boise ID
253 AM MDT Wed May 6 2020
.SHORT TERM...Today through Friday night...Pacific cold front
was in western Oregon at 1 AM PDT and was moving rapidly east.
Front should pass through eastern Oregon by 8 AM PDT and
western Idaho this morning. Winds will shift to west or
northwest as the front passes and increase to 25 to 35 mph with
gusts to 45 mph for several hours afterward. We added Malheur
County/OR to the wind advisory this morning and shortened the
end time of the advisory in Idaho from 9 PM MDT to 6 PM MDT.
We also lowered PoPs in southern areas today as model PoPs and
QPF have trended lower. Even the NBM, which outputs PoP every
hour, has trended lower since around 00Z. Rest of previous
forecast unchanged expecting cooler wx today, then clear and
cold tonight with frost in the Idaho agricultural areas toward
morning. Sunny and cool Thursday with lighter northwest winds,
then clear and cold again Thursday night with patchy frost early
Friday morning. Sunny and 7-10 degrees warmer Friday as an upper
ridge comes in from the Pacific. Clear and milder Friday night.
.LONG TERM...Saturday through Wednesday...Dry conditions through
Monday morning as a ridge of high pressure sits over the region. A
Pacific Low will move down along the coast by the beginning of the
week increasing shower activity for our area. Shower activity will
continue through the end of the forecast period as this low
continues to spin offshore. Temperatures will peak on Sunday with
valley locations sitting around 15 degrees above normal. After
Monday temperatures will drop back to near normal.
&&
.AVIATION...Mostly VFR. Cold front will press into SE Oregon early
morning with increased shower activity along and behind the front.
Most shower activity will stay north of a BNO-EUL-SUN line with
terminal sites BKE and MYL being the most impacted. MVFR to LIFR
conditions can be expected in and around showers with mountain
obscurations. Surface winds will increase through the morning
becoming west-northwest 20-25kt with gusts 30-35kt. Areas around
MYL southeastward through the Magic Valley will see stronger
sustained winds of 30-35kt with gusts 35-40kt. Winds aloft to 10k
feet MSL, southwest to west 35-40kt.
&&
.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Wind Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 6 PM MDT this evening
IDZ012>015-029.
Wind Advisory from noon today to 6 PM MDT this evening
IDZ016-028-030.
OR...Wind Advisory from 9 AM MDT /8 AM PDT/ this morning to noon MDT
/11 AM PDT/ today ORZ063-064.
&&
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SHORT TERM...LC
LONG TERM....JC
AVIATION.....JCThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The AWOS at Mountain Home Air Force Base reported a 59 MPH wind gust and several sites around the Treasure Valley reported high winds, including damage near Huston and a dust storm near Notus.
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, May 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: 895430.