A 79 mph wind gust at Medicine Lodge.
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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.
A 79 mph wind gust at Medicine Lodge.
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 25, 11:48 AM MST, 6 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 1248 PM MDT Fri Aug 25 2023 .SHORT TERM...Tonight and Saturday. Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms will continue to impact central and eastern Idaho. including some potential for lightning both nights. Stronger showers and storms may produce a brief, but decent shot of rain and gusty winds over 35 mph today and Saturday. By midnight, that potential should extend from around Island Park to Gilmore Summit to Craters to the Wood River Valley and Stanley Basin. We may see a few showers or storms south into the Magic Valley and South Hills, but the chance is less than 15% at the moment. For Saturday afternoon, the highest chances lie from the central mountains south across the Snake Plain/Magic Valley and into the South Hills/Albion Mountains. That area of rain and thunder very slowly shifts east tomorrow night. Keyes .LONG TERM...Sunday through Friday. Weak lingering shortwave energy topping building ridge of high pressure Sunday. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms continue mainly afternoon/evening over higher elevations. Upper ridge amplifies over the region Monday, but is short-lived as incoming Pacific low rapidly shifts inland. GFS and ECMWF deterministic runs are similar, though GFS is a little faster and drier than the ECMWF. Frontal passage late in the day looks to induce breezy to windy conditions across the Snake Plain and higher elevations, followed by a 10-15 degree drop in temperature into Wednesday. In this regard, ECMWF ensembles are more robust with the winds Tuesday. NBM somewhere in the middle, also carrying isolated to scattered showers/tstorms across the central mountains and Divide associated with the frontal passage Tuesday afternoon/evening. Both models spill secondary shortwave into the PacNW on northerly flow behind the fast-moving low by Thursday, deepening into a closed low over Oregon or just off the coast. East Idaho remains in a generally dry southwest flow. The low then strengthens and retrogrades off the coast completely Friday, turning flow more southerly and allowing moisture to surge north through the Great Basin. DMH && .AVIATION...VFR conditions continue through tonight. Mainly isolated storms remain possible this afternoon and early evening at all terminals, and will keep VCTS mention. There is some indication that showers could continue past midnight, mainly for KIDA/KDIJ, so have carried VCSH into the overnight hours for those terminals only. VCTS returns tomorrow afternoon. General wind pattern remains light, influenced by terrain overnight, but gusts 35-40kts remain possible from thunderstorm outflows. DMH && .FIRE WEATHER...Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms will persist through the weekend across central and eastern Idaho. There is a risk of overnight storms (isolated) across portions of the central mountains (422/476) across the Upper Plain (410) and into the eastern highlands (411) tonight, and for most fire zones into Saturday night...again isolated. Otherwise, we are looking at isolated to scattered storms tomorrow afternoon and again Sunday. Sunday's focus may end up being more over higher elevations, especially the central mountains and Zone 411. With storms that end up more on the dry side, gusts over 35 mph are certainly possible. There will be some potential for wetting rains (over 0.10'), but that will be limited somewhat. Through this evening, there is only a 10-20% chance across Zone 427, the central mountains and Zone 411. For Saturday, it looks like the same areas have the potential...although the percentages do go up a bit. Across 427, it climbs to 15-25% and across the central mountains/Montana border areas, it rises to 30-45%. By Sunday, the chance of wetting rain is 15-30% across the central mountains and along the Montana border. Otherwise, it is 15% or less across the rest of central and eastern Idaho. Heading into next week, we should be dry Monday as high pressure builds ahead of the next low that crosses the Northern Rockies and Great Basin. We may see showers and storms across our northern fire zones Tuesday...while we see a dry frontal passage for the rest of eastern Idaho that just brings a dry slot and stronger winds through the state. Keyes && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pocatello ID
415 PM MDT Fri Aug 25 2023
IDZ054-252300-
Lower Snake River Plain ID-
415 PM MDT Fri Aug 25 2023
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern
Bannock, north central Power and southwestern Bingham Counties
through 500 PM MDT...
At 413 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Neeley, moving northeast at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects.
Locations impacted include...
American Falls, American Falls Reservoir, and Sterling.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If on or near American Falls Reservoir, get out of the water and
move indoors or inside a vehicle. Remember, lightning can strike out
to 10 miles from the parent thunderstorm. If you can hear thunder,
you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Move to safe shelter
now! Do not be caught on the water in a thunderstorm.
&&
LAT...LON 4274 11286 4281 11292 4308 11271 4297 11255
TIME...MOT...LOC 2213Z 224DEG 16KT 4278 11294
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
ECSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pocatello ID
557 PM MDT Fri Aug 25 2023
IDZ052>054-260045-
Arco/Mud Lake Desert ID-Upper Snake River Plain ID-
Lower Snake River Plain ID-
557 PM MDT Fri Aug 25 2023
...Gusty thunderstorm outflow winds will impact portions of
southwestern Jefferson, east central Butte, northwestern Bonneville
and northwestern Bingham Counties through 645 PM MDT...
At 554 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking an outflow boundary
extending from 10 miles south of Northwest Inl to near Southeast Inl
to Taber. Movement was northeast at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could impact travel along US-20, as well
as knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects.
Locations impacted include...
Terreton, Roberts, Mud Lake, Taber, Southeast Inl, Osgood, Kettle
Butte, East Butte, and Sage Junction.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 4396 11225 4368 11207 4335 11216 4326 11275
4349 11271 4374 11284
TIME...MOT...LOC 2354Z 245DEG 27KT 4371 11272 4352 11262 4332 11266
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
ECThe Pocatello radar (KSFX), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:59 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Medicine Lodge mesonet site measured a 79 mph wind gust.
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: 1131557.