Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Lost River Valleys, Idaho

2022-12-21 to 2022-12-23 · Lost River Valleys, Idaho

Event narrative

Strong northerly winds combined with sub zero temperatures to produce 40 to 50 below wind chills. The Mackay School District closed schools on the 22nd due to the extreme cold conditions.

Wider weather episode

An extremely strong Pacific cold front brought wind gusts in the 50 to 80 mph range with localized blizzard conditions in the mountains and then extremely cold wind chills followed behind an arctic cold frontal passage. Snow amounts in the mountains were generally light and mainly in the 1 to 5 inch range but the combination with the wind brought many road closures to extreme eastern Idaho on the 21st into the 22nd. Some school closures occurred on the 21st and 22nd.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1071751. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.