Another cold frontal passage brought damaging winds to eastern Idaho especially in the Idaho Falls area with dust storms, extensive tree damage and multiple multi car interstate 15 accidents in the blowing dust.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 cold frontal passage brought damaging winds to eastern Idaho especially in the Idaho Falls area with dust storms, extensive tree damage and multiple multi car interstate 15 accidents in the blowing dust.
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 Mar 12, 3:11 AM MST, 2 hours 49 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 411 AM MDT Thu Mar 12 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Dangerous winds are possible Thursday and again on Saturday. A combination of HIGH WIND WARNING and WIND ADVISORY is currently in effect for Thursday. - High elevation snow will be possible tonight through Saturday across portions of the Central Mountains and passes east of I-15. - Significant warming trend begins by early next week. Record daytime highs may be possible by Tuesday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 110 AM MDT Thu Mar 12 2026 Winds will continue to ramp area wide for today into this evening. The "least wind" areas today will still gusts 25-35 mph. A good chunk of central and eastern Idaho will be in the 40-60 mph range for gusts. We may see localized gusts to 70 mph across portions of the Snake Plain and adjacent bench areas, as well as across higher elevations of the South Hills and Albion Mountains. Across higher ridgelines, such as the Lost River Range, Pioneers, and Boulders...look for gusts approaching 65-75 mph for a short time during the afternoon. There is very low chance that those ridgetops could even gust higher than that according the Blend of Models. Those winds will diminish tonight and Friday, but still remain pretty windy in some areas. Gusts tomorrow in many areas will be in the 35-55 mph. We will see one last period of high winds on Saturday, which continues to trend toward being stronger than today. We are currently looking at gusts of 45-65 mph across many areas. We have a 20-40% chance of exceeding 65 mph across the Snake Plain, Magic Valley, and adjacent bench areas. There is a very low chance of exceeding 75 mph in those areas. There is a 30-60% chance of exceeding 75 mph as well for higher ridgelines in the central mountains EXCEPT the Sawtooths, highest elevations of the eastern and southeast highlands, and Bear River Range. We kept the WIND ADVISORY AND HIGH WIND WARNING intact from yesterday, although we added the Lost River, Challis, and Pahsimeroi Valleys. There is the potential that the Lower Snake Plain may need added to the HIGH WIND WARNING if trends continue upward. We will need a WIND ADVISORY tomorrow for some valley locations, and likely a combination of WIND ADVISORY and HIGH WIND WARNING headlines Saturday. Moisture will continue to occasionally stream across the central mountains and eastern highlands through the weekend. Saturday and Sunday may see the potential for showers for all zones and all elevations, but the focus would remain in similar areas overall. Three day totals for precipitation for the eastern highlands will be 0.30-0.80", with the high end of that range fairly isolated and more likely north and east of the borders with Wyoming and Southwest Montana. For the central mountains, this strong flow will really limit precipitation to the Sawtooths, Frank Church, northern end of the Smokys, Boulders, White Clouds. Three day totals are 0.50-1.50" above 8000ft, with localized at or above 2". We trimmed quite a bit of precipitation (0.50-1.0" worth) in those areas back, as it appears the higher resolution models are producing unrealistic 6-12 hour totals. That said, there is still a 10-40% chance of exceeding 2" on the spine of the Sawtooths. That produces a potential for 10-30" above 8500ft from around Galena Summit northward, with little to no snow south toward the Wood River Valley. By Sunday, a strong ridge of high pressure begins to reestablish itself over the western states, leading to a dry, less windy, and increasingly warm pattern. Temperatures warm significantly starting Monday. Current NBM probabilities suggest a 30% chance of reaching 70 degrees across the Eastern Magic Valley by Monday, and a 40-70% chance of reaching 80 degrees for the Snake Plain south and west of Blackfoot by Wednesday, nearing or exceeding records. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 404 AM MDT Thu Mar 12 2026 The big issue today is going to be the wind. We are forecasting gusts of 40-50kts at BYI, PIH, IDA, and DIJ late morning into the early evening. At SUN, we are expecting a persistent crosswind from the west throughout the day, gusting at 20-30kts. Winds across surrounding terrain to SUN will likely see gusts up to 65kts. There will be clouds around with some showers. It looks like the pattern is NOT conducive for VCSH or -SHRA at SUN. We did include VCSH at DIJ with ceilings trying to dip down to MVFR for a few hours. && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for IDZ051-054-055-057-058-062-067-068-070. High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for IDZ052-053-056-065. && DISCUSSION...DMH/Keyes AVIATION...Keyes
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread gusts over 50 mph occurred throughout the day. A peak of 63 mph was recorded at the River Rim mesonet site on Idaho Highway 33. Canyon Creek recorded 62 mph.
Sixty to 70 mph winds were widespread across the Arco and Mud Lake Desert region. A peak gust of 70 mph was recorded at Tom Cat Summit on US Highway 20. 60 mph was recorded at Kettle Butte.
Extreme winds occurred throughout the late morning through afternoon. A peak gust of 75 mph was measured at the Bonneville County Landfill in Idaho Falls. The Idaho Falls ASOS recorded a 70 mph wind gust. Shortly after 1 PM MDT Interstate 15 closed between Idaho Falls and State Highway 33 due to blowing dust. The blowing dust contributed to multiple multiple vehicle crashes on interstate 15 near Idaho Falls. Power lines downed near Roberts . A tree was downed on a vehicle in Ammon . Power lines and trees downed near Tautphaus Park. Several trees downed throughout the city of Idaho Falls. A power pole was downed as well. Trees downed at Liberty Park as well.
Multiple wind gusts over 50 mph occurred with a peak of 65 mph at Cotton Ridge.
A 58 mph wind gust measured at Rising river mesonet site. A roof was blown off a chicken coop with fences blown over at a farm near Rockford. The wind caused power outages in Shelley affecting about 100 customers.
Widespread 50 to 65 mph wind gusts occurred throughout the day. A peak gust of 64 mph was measured just south of Bone and 62 mph was measured near Ozone with 60 mph at Fish Creek Summit.
Fifty plus mph wind gusts were widespread with a peak of 60 mph recorded at the Alpon East mesonet site 2 miles east of Alton.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 2026
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: 1327464, 1327460, 1327445, 1327470, 1327457, 1327462, 1327467.