Widespread wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph were recorded as the remnants of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hilary moved through Idaho.
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The episode as NWS PIH wrote it up.
Widespread wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph were recorded as the remnants of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hilary moved through Idaho.
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 21, 1:41 AM MST, 6 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 241 AM MDT Mon Aug 21 2023 .SHORT TERM (Today and Tuesday)... Early morning satellite imagery shows TC Hilary continuing to move quickly out of California and into central Nevada. Tropical moisture associated with the decaying tropical cyclone will continue to surge north into Idaho throughout the day today allowing for ample rainfall to fall across portions of the area. Hi-res models continue to show the best chance for this focused across the central mountains as upslope enhancement and deep tropical moisture should set the stage for a pretty rainy Monday and a Flood Watch remains in place through the late evening in these areas. As we move into the Snake Plain and areas to the east, PoPs look to be a bit more scattered in nature as deeper moisture remains to the west and best rain chances will be more convective in nature as we see decent instability by mid-afternoon courtesy of daytime heating. In addition to the rainfall threat, a tightening pressure gradient between TC Hilary and the strong high pressure across the central U.S. should allow for a windy day across eastern Idaho. Wind Advisories and High Wind warnings remain in place through late evening. Much of the region can expect wind gusts in the 40-50 mph range this afternoon with some locally higher gusts certainly likely in some of our more wind prone locations. As we move into Tuesday, winds will remain breezy but not nearly like what we can expect to see today. Upper-level SW flow remains in place however keeping adequate moisture in place over the area to allow for some diurnal shower/storm development later in the day areawide. McKaughan .LONG TERM...Wednesday through Monday. Low pressure swings across southern Canada Wednesday, helping to pull whatever moisture is left over from Hilary to the north and east. There is enough for showers and storms though across mainly the higher elevations. We may also see some gusty winds along the Montana border as well. Otherwise, southwest flow sets up again across Idaho...as high pressure sits over the High Plains and a low develops offshore. Our Blend of Models is holding onto showers and a few storms especially across the South Hills, Albion Mountains and southeast highlands. The GFS and ECMWF look much drier, so we may end up with a fairly quiet Thursday IF that trends continues. A weaker "wave" rotating around the main low will increase the chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday and potentially Saturday...based on the Blend of Models, GFS and ECMWF. After that, we will have to see how things evolve with the overall pattern across the eastern Pacific and western U.S. The GFS maintains that low closer to the coast and stronger southwest flow, and the possibility of daily showers and storms. The ECMWF has the pattern shift must farther west, putting us more under a ridge of high pressure...which would leave us dry and a bit warmer. Although the latest cluster forecasts aren't available, the previous forecast run was showing a near 50/50 split between those 2 ideas. Our Blend of Models shows lingering showers/storms over the mountains and a gradual warming trend back toward average for the end of August. Keyes && .AVIATION... Deep tropical moisture continues to surge northward through the Great Basin as the remains of TC Hilary continue to push north towards the region. In addition to the moisture, winds will ramp up significantly around the area later this afternoon with widespread gusts in the 30-40 kt range not out of the question at all terminals. VFR CIGS mainly expected today outside of KSUN where MVFR CIGS/VIS will be possible at times with embedded moderate to heavy bands of rain and a brief period of IFR certainly possible as well as the highest total precipitation amounts are expected here courtesy of southerly upslope flow into the Wood River Valley. Other terminals will see more "hit-or-miss" style showers/storms during the late afternoon/early evening hours with the best chance for any thunderstorms likely at KDIJ. McKaughan && .FIRE WEATHER... Wet and windy weather remains the theme for today across central and eastern Idaho. As the main firehose of moisture associated with Hilary shifts west, we are still looking at a steady stream of moisture into the central mountains for most of today. An additional 0.50-1.0" is possible across the Lost River Range and portions of the Sawtooths, Boulders and Pioneers. The rest of the central mountains should see another 0.10-0.40". Higher rainfall rates are likely today on those areas as we should see enough cloud breaks for thunderstorms to form this afternoon and evening. The threat of flooding, slides and debris flows remains across the central mountains. In fact, that trend is expected across most of the area today especially once you get away from the central mountains. Outside of the central mountains, we may see up to additional 0.20-0.40" of rainfall where we get those thunderstorms forming. Also with the strongest storms, enhanced wind gusts are expected. Speaking of wind today, it still appears to be rather windy today over all of central and eastern Idaho OUTSIDE of any enhanced wind gusts. Winds of 30-45 mph will be common, with gusts over 50 mph across the higher elevations of the central mountains and along the Montana border in Zone 411. We continue to advertise gusts of 50-70 mph along and south of the 84/86 corridor due to southerly downslope and gap winds. Tomorrow will be another breezy day, although much less than today, with more showers and storms in the forecast. The focus for heavier precipitation will be across the Sawtooths and Stanley Basin, as well as the southeast corner (413) where there is still MARGINAL RISK FOR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL. Amounts are only up around a third of an inch, but storms moving over the same area will produce higher amounts...plus very saturated ground (especially in the central mountains) could easily producing flash flooding, slides and debris flows. Otherwise, look for a mix of wet and dry storms Tuesday. The rest of this week and into the weekend will see a gradual warming trend, but elevated humidity even in the afternoons. There will be occasional showers across the area, with a mix of wet and dry storms. Keyes && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from noon today to 9 PM MDT this evening for IDZ052>055-062-067-068. High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for IDZ056-057. High Wind Warning from noon today to 9 PM MDT this evening for IDZ058-059. Flood Watch through this evening for IDZ068>075. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph occurred on the 21st especially in the morning with a peak of 60 mph measured 4 miles west southwest of Galena.
Fifty to 60 mph wind gusts were widespread in the morning and early afternoon in the Southern Hills and Albion Mountains.
Extensive wind gusts in the 50 to 60 mph range occurred in the Arco and Mud Lake Desert. Big Southern Butte measured 67 mph for the peak gust in the region.
The Medicine Lodge mesonet station recorded a 76 mph wind gust. Widespread gusts over 50 mph occurred.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, August 2023
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: 1131537, 1131540, 1131536, 1131535.