Idaho, 2022

High Wind in Idaho, April 4 to 5, 2022

April 4 to 5, 2022 · NWS PIH · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Strong cold front related wind storm. Several wind gusts in the 50 to 75 mph range on April 4th into April 5th with damage reported and road closures.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$12,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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.

Strong cold front related wind storm. Several wind gusts in the 50 to 75 mph range on April 4th into April 5th with damage reported and road closures.

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 4, 2:37 AM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 4, 2:37 AM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pocatello ID
337 AM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022

...STRONG WINDS EXPECTED FROM THIS AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY WITH
DIFFICULT DRIVING, BLOWING DUST, AND ISOLATED DAMAGE POSSIBLE...

.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...
A trough of low pressure remains forecast to bring mixed precip and
a high wind event to the region covering the next 36 hours or so.
Showers will overspread the Central Mntns and perhaps Island Park
this AM, reaching the rest of the CWA this afternoon. Temps in the
50s at lower elevations and 30s to near 40 in the mntns will support
mostly rain below 6,000-6,500ft, and mostly snow above. 4-8" are
expected north of Galena Summit and west of Clayton with locally
higher amounts above pass level in the Sawtooths, so a WINTER STORM
WARNING continues here for combined impacts of snow and wind/blowing
snow (more on the wind below). Other portions of the Central Mntns
west of Challis and Mackay, as well as the Big Holes, Bear River
Range, and Caribou Range will see 1-5" with locally higher amounts
above pass level in the Bear River Range, so we have issued a WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY here, again for snow combined with wind/blowing
snow. The heaviest snow should generally end across the Central
Mntns by late this eve, continuing elsewhere overnight as a cold
front sends snow levels to near valley floors, but not before most
precip potential has ended in the Snake Plain. Remaining rain/snow
showers will trend down Tue afternoon.

ALL other zones across the forecast area are under a HIGH WIND
WARNING starting at noon today. Preparations should be completed by
that time, including securing or bringing inside loose outdoor
items. Overall guidance has backed off perhaps just a few MPH
compared to what we were seeing over the weekend, but with 50kts of
flow at 700mb, decent lapse rates promoting decent mixing, and the
NBM 4.1 advertising gust over 60 MPH transitioning from north to
south across the region over the 36 hour event, we don't feel
strongly at this time about backing off the HIGH WIND WARNING to a
WIND ADVISORY for any zones just yet. The best potential for gusts
exceeding 60 MPH will be above 7,000 feet across the Central Mntns,
the ern half of Cassia County including the I-84/I-86 junction, the
Arco Desert/INL, and near Ririe. Otherwise, WSW winds of 25-40 MPH
with gusts of 45 to 60 MPH are expected. The primary hazards with
this event are expected to be difficult driving for high profile
vehicles and patchy blowing dust, with the greatest dust concerns
along I-15 between Hamer and Idaho Falls, I-15 between Blackfoot and
Chubbuck, I-86 between Pocatello Airport and American Falls, ID-39
between American Falls and Aberdeen, and I-84 near Yale and Idahome.
Overall confidence on the blowing dust is somewhat limited as
development will depend on where fields have been recently plowed
and coverage of any shower activity. In areas that do see gusts of
60+ MPH, a few isolated power outages and downed trees/limbs will be
possible as well, although the "normal" WSW wind direction will tend
to reduce overall damage potential. Winds may tend to decrease
gradually Tue, although may still be problematic especially across
the ern Magic Valley and Raft River Region, so we continue to let
the warnings ride through 6 PM Tue eve for now. Expect high temps
Tue to run about 10 degrees colder than today. 01

.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH NEXT MONDAY...
Upper level ridge will build into the area on Wednesday. Our
temperatures will begin to recover on Wednesday with highs in the
40s to low 50s. The ridge will gain strength through the week and
we'll see temperatures climb about 10 degrees each day. By Friday,
we'll be flirting with record highs. The deterministic NBM forecast
currently has highs in the low to mid 70s. However, the 50th
percentile is slightly warmer and could endanger highs which are
generally in the upper 70s.

Models bring a cold front into the region on Saturday which should
lower our highs 5 to 10 degrees. An upper level trough is expected
to sag into the region over the weekend into early next week. Right
now, looking at showery precipitation with temperatures likely
settling back into the 40s and 50s for highs. 13

&&

.AVIATION...Main issues over the next 24-36 hour deal with strong
winds entering the area. Winds expected to ramp up during the day
with the strongest winds arriving around or after 00z. Expect
strongest winds to arrive in the IDA/DIJ initially and then sag
south through the night. Showers are possible as well this afternoon
and into the night. IDA/PIH/BYI most likely looking at vfr ceilings.
However, SUN could fall to MVFR this morning and DIJ could see MVFR
ceilings as well this afternoon. 13

&&

.PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

High Wind Warning from noon today to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for
IDZ051>059-061-062-065>070-075.

Winter Weather Advisory until midnight MDT tonight for IDZ071-
074.

Winter Storm Warning until midnight MDT tonight for IDZ072-073.

Winter Weather Advisory from noon today to 10 AM MDT Tuesday for
IDZ060-063-064.

&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Lower Snake River Plain

When
April 4, 5:00 AM MST to April 5, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Lower Snake River Plain forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.860, -112.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread 40 to 60 mph wind gusts occurred following a strong cold frontal passage. The peak gust was 57 mph at Aberdeen with over 40 mph at Chubbuck, Pocatello and Taber.

High Wind, Big Hole Mountains

When
April 4, 6:00 AM MST to April 5, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Big Hole Mountains forecast zone
Measured
54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.644, -111.494 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme wind gusts in the 50 to 65 mph range were frequent after a strong cold frontal passage. The ITD site at Pine Creek Pass recorded 62 mph and Pine Creek RAWS recorded 52 mph.

High Wind, Beaverhead-Lemhi Highlands

When
April 4, 11:00 AM MST to April 5, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Beaverhead-Lemhi Highlands forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.004, -112.761 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong cold frontal passage brought strong wind gusts to the entire region with the peak gust 65 mph recorded at the Camas ITD site on Interstate 15.

High Wind, Arco-Mud Lake Desert

When
April 4, 11:00 AM MST to April 5, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Arco-Mud Lake Desert forecast zone
Measured
64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.537, -112.374 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme wind gusts in the 60 to 75 mph range were widespread in the Arco and Mud Lake Desert region. A 74 mph gust was recorded 9 miles south southwest of Mud Lake with 66 mph at Telegraph Hill and Puzzle with 64 mph at Tom Cat Summit. Monteview and Haber recorded 61 mph gusts and Atomic City 59 mph.

High Wind, Lost River Valleys

When
April 4, 12:00 PM MST to April 5, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Lost River Valleys forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.982, -113.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread 50 to 65 mph wind gusts were recorded following a strong cold frontal passage. The peak gusts were 64 mph at Dead Man Canyon and the base of Howe Peak. Howe recorded 54 mph and Arco 51 mph.

High Wind, Upper Snake River Plain

When
April 4, 1:00 PM MST to April 5, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Upper Snake River Plain forecast zone
Measured
57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
43.805, -111.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The highest wind gust recorded was 66 mph at Kettle Butte. 2 miles north northeast of Sugar City recorded 60 mph with 58 mph at the Idaho Falls Airport and 59 mph at the ITD Roberts site. Interstate 15 closed from about 3 pm MDT to 6 pm MDT on the 4th from milepost 119 in Idaho Falls to milepost 134.5 in Roberts due to the high winds and blowing dust.

High Wind, Sun Valley Region

When
April 4, 2:00 PM MST to April 5, 4:00 AM MST
Where
Sun Valley Region forecast zone
Measured
54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.826, -114.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Fifty to 60 mph wind gusts were common after a cold frontal passage with a peak gust recorded at 62 mph 4 miles west of Galena.

High Wind, Southern Hills-Albion Mountains

When
April 4, 3:00 PM MST to April 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Hills-Albion Mountains forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.284, -113.600 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread 50 to 60 mph gusts were recorded with the peak measured at 61 mph at Cotton Ridge RAWS site.

High Wind, Teton Valley

When
April 4, 4:00 PM MST to April 5, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Teton Valley forecast zone
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$12,000
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.924, -111.450 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The peak wind gust was 70 mph recorded at the Botts ITD site. River Rim recorded 60 mph and Driggs airport 55 mph. The The Driggs Spud Drive-In Theater movie screen crashed to the ground overnight during early morning hours of the 5th. It was built in 1953 and was on the National Register of Historic Places.

High Wind, Shoshone-Lava Beds

When
April 4, 4:00 PM MST to April 5, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Shoshone-Lava Beds forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.089, -113.918 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts behind a strong cold frontal passage measured 50 to 60 mph with the highest 59 mph 1 mile east northeast of Richfield and 55 mph at Kinsey Butte.

High Wind, Raft River Region

When
April 4, 4:00 PM MST to April 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Raft River Region forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS
Coordinates
42.391, -112.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread 50 to 65 mph wind gusts were present following the passage of a strong cold front. The peak was 65 mph at Moburg Canyon with 57 mph at Pilot Gold and 54 mph at Yale ITD site.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, April 2022

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1020279, 1020284, 1020289, 1020294, 1020280, 1020227, 1020231, 1020240, 1020211, 1020270, 1020278.