Winter Storm — Centennial Mountains-island Park, Idaho

2022-01-07 · Centennial Mountains-island Park, Idaho

Event narrative

Whiteout conditions caused by 40 plus mph wind gusts created a 40 vehicle crash on US Highway 20 in the east bound lane on January 7th. It initially occurred when a semi crashed into a stopped vehicle that was stopped due to the low visibility. Ambulances were involved in the pile up. The location was in the Henry's Lake flats in between Idaho Highway 87 and Island Park. Two police deputies were struck as well. Only very minor injuries were reported in the pile up with no deaths. The crash occurred at around 3 pm MST and US Highway 20 was closed for several hours as well as Idaho Highway 87 from Island Park to the Montana state line for several hours. Both were re-opened on the 8th. Snowfall was not heavy in the 1 to 3 inch range but the extremely gusty winds created the whiteout.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1005096. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.