Another storm system brought extremely heavy snow to the southeastern Idaho mountains and widespread snow across the entire region.
Every event with a place to put it; 18 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.
Another storm system brought extremely heavy snow to the southeastern Idaho mountains and widespread snow across the entire region.
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 Dec 9, 1:55 PM MST, 6 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 155 PM MST Fri Dec 9 2022 .SHORT TERM...Tonight through Saturday night. Will have mainly dry conditions over night with snow moving into the Sawtooth region and Sun Valley region late tonight and heavy snow is expected across a large portion of southeast Idaho Saturday into Sunday. The area includes the Lost River region, Arco, Mud Lake, Shoshone, Lava bed region. The Sawtooths, Sun Valley, Wood River and Big lost Highlands. Expect up to a foot of snow even in some valley locations and up to 2 feet of snow expected in high elevations and above pass level. Very high impact travel issues are expected. Limited snow is expected elsewhere with under an inch expected through Saturday night in the southern mountains and Snake River Plain with perhaps 2 to 4 inches in the Island Park area and Upper Snake River Highlands. Generally mild conditions expected Saturday with highs in the 20s to lower 30s mountains and mid to upper 30s Snake River Plain and eastern Magic Valley. GK .LONG TERM...Sunday through next Friday. A deep moist low pressure system positioned along the NW California coast is expected to rotated east into the WRN Great Basin during the day Sunday as an enhanced band of precipitation extends across CNTRL Nevada into SE Idaho resulting in a continuation of moderate to heavy snow in those favored upslope regions of the CNTRL mountains and perhaps to a lesser extent the Utah border region. Thus Warnings and Advisories have been extended into Sunday for a portion of the CNTRL mountains. As the low shifts east across NRN Nevada Sunday night and into NRN Utah Monday, ongoing snowfall is expected across SE Idaho with differences in location and amount showing up in the short-term model suites. Thus Winter Highlights may yet be possible in this time frame, however model uncertainty is playing havoc with pinpointing those places and times that may see significant impacts. We will have to wait for those differences to resolve as we work through the weekend...stay tuned. Beyond Monday, the low ejects east into the mid-west states with gradually drier and colder conditions spreading into SE Idaho in its wake. Some of the cold may yet be mitigated depending on the ultimate position of the next upstream Pacific low taking shape off the NW coast. Roughly 50 percent of the ensemble model space shows the low setting up well off the California coast whereas the other 50 percent shows it closer to the coast which would result in a better chance for SE Idaho to fall under the SW cyclonic warmer flow. If you have been following the ECMWF and GFS MOS temperature guidance as of late, you may have noticed the differences and variability in the guidance. Clear as mud! Huston && .AVIATION... Main impacts will be continuing strong winds through 00Z at BYI, PIH and IDA with sustained 15 to 25 knots and gusts 25 to 35 knots. These should die down quickly after sunset. With the oncoming winter storm expect SUN to be most affected with MVFR conditions in snow Saturday possible occasional IFR then likely IFR with visibility under 1 mile and ceilings under 1 thousand feet overnight Saturday into Sunday. Expect VFR conditions through Saturday at PIH and BYI with some lingering MVFR to IFR in lower ceilings at IDA and DIJ. GK && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 6 AM Saturday to 3 PM MST Sunday for IDZ051-052. Winter Storm Warning from 6 AM Saturday to 3 PM MST Sunday for IDZ068-069-073>075. Winter Weather Advisory from 6 AM Saturday to 6 AM MST Sunday for IDZ071. Winter Storm Warning from 6 AM Saturday to 6 AM MST Sunday for IDZ072. &&
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pocatello ID
227 PM MST Fri Dec 9 2022
IDZ053-064>066-100315-
Centennial Mountains/Island Park-Big Hole Mountains-Upper Snake River
Plain-Teton Valley-
227 PM MST Fri Dec 9 2022
...BLOWING SNOW WILL AFFECT NORTHERN TETON, SOUTHEASTERN FREMONT AND
NORTHEASTERN MADISON COUNTIES THROUGH AT LEAST 8 PM MDT THIS
EVENING...
At 220 PM MST, breezy southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph were creating
areas of blowing and drifting snow along State Highway 32 and 33
from Ashton and Newdale to Tetonia. Winds are expected to remain
elevated until around 8 PM before gradually diminishing into the
midnight hour. Travelers moving through this region should expect
winter weather conditions and road closures.
Locations impacted include...
Ashton, Marysville, Felt, Sugar City, Teton, Tetonia, Drummond,
Chester, St Anthony, Tetonia Research Station and Newdale.
LAT...LON 4375 11105 4388 11179 4399 11172 4408 11147
4410 11105
TIME...MOT...LOC 2120Z 240DEG 49KT 4389 11117
HustonPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
647 PM MST FRI DEC 9 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0700 AM SNOW 1 WNW HAILEY 43.52N 114.32W
12/09/2022 M3.9 INCH BLAINE ID COCORAHS
COCORAHS STATION ID-BN-6 HAILEY 1.0 WNW.
0700 AM SNOW BELLEVUE 43.46N 114.26W
12/09/2022 M3.0 INCH BLAINE ID COCORAHS
COCORAHS STATION ID-BN-3 BELLEVUE.
0700 AM SNOW MOORE 43.73N 113.37W
12/09/2022 M1.6 INCH BUTTE ID COCORAHS
COCORAHS STATION ID-BT-3 MOORE 0.1 W.
0900 AM SNOW 2 S SUGAR CITY 43.85N 111.75W
12/09/2022 M1.4 INCH MADISON ID COCORAHS
COCORAHS STATION ID-MD-5 SUGAR CITY 1.9 S.
0745 AM SNOW 3 NNW LAVA HOT SPRINGS 42.66N 112.02W
12/09/2022 M1.0 INCH BANNOCK ID COCORAHS
COCORAHS STATION ID-BK-26 LAVA HOT SPRINGS
2.9 NNW.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 heavy snow, 4 winter weather, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
An estimated 34 inches of snow fell at the Vienna Mine SNOTEL site. 7 inches fell in Stanley.
Extremely heavy snow fell in the Sun Valley area with 24 to 28 inches measured in Ketchum and Sun Valley. SNOTEL site amounts were estimated to be the following: Chocolate Gulch 27 inches, Dollarhide Summit 27 inches, Galena 19 inches, Galena Summit 29 inches, Hyndman 17 inches, and Lost Wood Divide 27 inches. Blaine County School District was closed on the 12th due to road conditions.
Extended period snow amounts were 18.8 inches by the Bellevue COOP observer and 20 inches by a spotter near Hailey. Blaine County School District was closed on the 12th due to the road conditions.
Heavy snow combined with winds caused poor road conditions which closed butte County School District 111 on the 12th. The Craters of the Moon COOP site recorded 14 inches of snow during the storm.
Heavy snow fell over an extended period of time. Due to the road condition Butte County School District 111 was closed on the 12th. Observed snowfall totals were 13.5 inches in Howe, 13 inches in Moore, and 12 inches in Mackay.
A total of 11.5 inches of snow fell over an extended event at Inkom.
A total of 11.5 inches of snow fell over an extended event at Inkom. The event was a very long duration storm with lesser amounts, generally below 8 inches, falling at lower elevations.
Heavy snow reports were 6 inches in Montpelier and 9 inches in Bern.
SNOTEL estimated snow amounts were 15 inches at Emigrant Summit and Franklin Basin.
Snowfall amounts were 7.5 inches by the Dubois COOP observer and 18.2 inches by the Small COOP observer.
Estimated SNOTEL amounts were the following: Bear Canyon 23 inches, Garfield Ranger Station 19 inches, Smiley Mountain 33 inches, Stickney Mill 15 inches, and Swede Peak 33 inches.
Ten inches of snow fell in Soda Springs.
An estimated 16.6 inches of snow fell at the Hilt's Creek SNOTEL.
An estimated 17.6 inches of snow fell at the Mill Creek Summit SNOTEL site.
Over the extended event COOP observers reported 5 inches in Preston and 6 inches in McCammon.
An extended period of snow dropped 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Pocatello and Chubbuck area from the 10th into the 12th.
A long period of snow brought widespread 6 to 8 inches of snow to the region. Over 50 accidents were reported by Bonneville County police department on the 12th.
An avalanche brought debris across highway 75 and it was shut down going over Galena Summit on the 11th and 12th. It was closed from 22 miles north of Ketchum to 24 miles sough of Stanley.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, December 2022
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: 1071516, 1071519, 1071522, 1071477, 1071509, 1071514, 1109541, 1071481, 1071486, 1071489, 1071491, 1071496, 1071508, 1071499, 1071500, 1071512, 1071521, 1071498.