An extended period of off and on snow for the first 4 days of December caused travel problems and widespread heavy snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 17 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.
An extended period of off and on snow for the first 4 days of December caused travel problems and widespread heavy snow.
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 Nov 30, 8:45 PM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 heavy snow, 4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Two to 3 inches of snow fell in Rexburg and Idaho Falls and law enforcement reported multiple slide offs and accidents on US Highway 20 just south of Rexburg on the morning of the 1st. Slick roads were the likely cause of many of the accidents.
An estimated 26 inches of snow fell at the Sedgwick Peak SNOTEL and 17 inches at Wildhorse Divide. 10.4 inches of snow fell 5 miles north of Inkom. 16.5 inches of snow was measured 3 miles north northwest of Lava Hot Springs and 11 inches in Inkom with 10.9 inches measured at McCammon.
A total of 31 inches of snow was estimated at the Oxford Springs SNOTEL site.
An estimated 35 inches of snow fell at the Emigrant Summit and Franklin Basin SNOTEL sites.
An estimated 11 inches of snow fell at the Giveout SNOTEL site with 21 inches at Slug Creek Divide and 16 inches at Somsen Ranch. 7.5 inches was measured at a Soda Springs site.
A total of 11.5 inches of snow was measured at the Island Park COOP site. 16.3 inches was estimated at the Island Park SNOTEL site and 18.3 inches at the White Elephant SNOTEL site.
An estimated 11 inches of snow fell at the Hilt's Creek SNOTEL site.
An estimated 11 inches of snow fell at the Mill Creek Summit SNOTEL site.
An estimated 27.3 inches of snow fell at the Vienna Mine SNOTEL site.
The following estimated snow amounts fell at these SNOTEL sites: Chocolate Gulch 11.5 inches, Dollarhide Summit 16.1 inches, Galena 15.8 inches, Galena Summit 15.4 inches, Hyndman 13 inches, and Lost Wood Divide 16.4 inches.
The following snowfall amounts were estimated at SNOTEL sites: Bear Canyon 15.6 inches, Garfield Ranger Station 22.5 inches, Smiley Mountain 13.5 inches, and Stickney Mill 11.7 inches.
A total of 13.5 inches of snow was measured by the Bern COOP observer with 8 inches on the 3rd.
An estimated 11 inches of snow fell at the Hilt's Creek SNOTEL site.
An estimated 11 inches of snow fell at the Mill Creek Summit SNOTEL site.
A total of 32 inches of snow was measured by a spotter 4 miles west of Victor. A foot was measured at 8 pm on the first and it kept adding up through the morning of the 4th. An estimated 24 inches fell at the Pine Creek Pass SNOTEL site through December 3rd. 11.5 inches was measured 3 miles north of Victor by another trained spotter.
An estimated 32 inches of snow fell at Bostetter Ranger Station and 51 inches at Howell Canyon SNOTEL sites.
A two vehicle collision resulted in the death of one of the passengers. Idaho State Police investigaed a vehicle fatality collision which occurred on Monday, December 4, 2023, at 7:05 A.M. on State Highway 33 at mile marker 57 east of Terreton.
A 2008 Chevrolet Silverado was traveling eastbound on SH33. A 2018 Volvo semi-truck hauling a trailer was traveling westbound on SH33. The Chevrolet crossed the center line where it struck the Volvo head on.
The driver of the Chevrolet, a 23-year-old-man from Terreton, was not wearing a seatbelt and succumbed to his injures at scene. The driver of the semi-truck, a 24-year-old-man from Louisville, KY, was wearing a seatbelt and was transported to a local hospital. Slick roads were thought to be a contributing factor.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Arco-Mud Lake Desert | 2023-12-04 | 23 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
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, December 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1153871, 1153872, 1153875, 1153876, 1153878, 1153882, 1153883, 1153887, 1153888, 1153891, 1153892, 1153903, 1192960, 1192962, 1153864, 1153868, 1153901.