A deep upper level trough brought a cold frontal passage which brought very strong winds to southwestern Idaho and especially impacted air traffic at Boise and Twin Falls airports.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 BOI wrote it up.
A deep upper level trough brought a cold frontal passage which brought very strong winds to southwestern Idaho and especially impacted air traffic at Boise and Twin Falls airports.
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 Boise, ID wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 2, 3:50 AM MST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Boise ID
350 AM MST Sat Mar 2 2024
.SHORT TERM...Today through Monday night... An anomalously cold
and deep upper level trough remains just off the Pacific NW
Coast, with near record cold air aloft for the date just
offshore. A rather impressive cumulus field exists on satellite
over the NE Pacific to the Gulf of Alaska, also indicative of
the extremely cold air aloft. A strong cold front is tracking
across eastern OR early this morning with gusty winds up to 40
mph along the front, isolated thunderstorms and snow showers.
The front will track across SW Idaho later this morning and move
past the Magic Valley after midday. Snow showers will follow in
the wake of the cold front, as 500 mb temperatures fall to -35
to -38C this afternoon, which is near record cold on the
historical BOI sounding climatology. To put it in perspective,
this happens about once every 10 years, based on the ECMWF
reforecasts. This cold air aloft will provide steep lapse
rates, and with March sun angles, it won't take much surface
heating to get showers and isolated thunderstorms going during
this afternoon and Sunday/Monday afternoons. This is a good
pattern for significant snows in the mountains, although snow
accumulations will be highly variable due to the showery nature
of the precipitation, so snow totals will vary greatly over
short distances. Have a feeling that current snow forecast may
be underdone. Temperatures will be around 10-15 degrees below
normal over the short term with snow levels falling to the
surface at all locations behind the cold front today.
.LONG TERM...Tuesday through Saturday...Tuesday through
Wednesday morning an upper trough will be moving through our
area, bringing cooler and wetter weather. Tuesday will begin
with widespread precipitation, generally decreasing through the
day and finally dissipating by Wednesday morning. Snow levels
will be at valley floors in the morning hours, rising to around
3500 ft MSL in the afternoon: supporting light valley snow
accumulation, but much more in the mountains. Winds may be gusty
Tuesday as the trough will be just west of us. A brief weak
ridge builds Wednesday before a shortwave passes on Thursday,
bringing a 25% chance of afternoon showers. Guidance is not in
total agreement in showing the shortwave developing, so there is
some uncertainty in whether we see any precipitation. Through
the rest of the period a high amplitude ridge builds, signalling
a warming trend and a break from unsettled conditions. At the
very end of the long term period, models show a deep trough and
associated moisture approaching the Pac NW coast, though the
timing of its arrival and its intensity is unclear. Temps
through the period are about 10 degrees below normal, rising to
just below normal Fri/Sat.
&&
.AVIATION...MVFR/IFR and localized LIFR in snow and rain
showers through Saturday morning. 3000-4000 ft MSL snow levels
lowering to valley floors following a cold front passage late
Saturday morning. Isolated thunderstorms will develop as the
front moves from W to E. Thunder most likely over high terrain,
but remains possible throughout our area. Mountains obscured.
Areas of LLWS in the Snake River Plain until Sat/16z. Surface
winds: SE- SW 10-20 kt, with gusts to 30 kt near the NV border
and becoming variable less than 10 kt after 03/03Z. Winds aloft
at 10k ft MSL: SW 35-45 kt.
Sunday Outlook...VFR/MVFR and local IFR conditions mainly near KTWF-
KJER and KMYL in slight chance of snow showers over the Central ID
Mtns, Magic Valley, and near the NV border throughout the day.
Lighter sporadic showers possible in the rest of our area. Surface
winds will be SE-SW 5-15 kt.
&&
.BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon
IDZ011-013.
Wind Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon IDZ015-016-028>030.
OR...None.
&&
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SHORT TERM...KA
LONG TERM....JM
AVIATION.....JMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The ASOS at KBOI measured a wind gust of 40 knots.
The ASOS at KMAN measured a wind gust of 48 knots.
The mesonet station 14 miles East of Atlanta, ID measured a wind gust of 50 knots.
The mesonet station 17 miles southwest of Hagerman, ID measured a wind gust of 51 knots.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 2024
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: 1169002, 1169003, 1169004, 1169005.