High Wind — Western Lemhi County, Idaho

2025-12-17 · Western Lemhi County, Idaho

Event narrative

The Skull Gulch RAWS at 5,878 feet recorded gusts between 60 and 73 mph between 0851MST and 1051MST. Utility companies reported power outages due to trees down across southeastern Idaho.

Wider weather episode

On December 17, 2025, a historic high wind event driven by a strong cold front undercutting an atmospheric river brought hurricane-force winds to North Central Idaho. Saturated, extremely wet soils severely weakened root structures, which substantially exacerbated the toppling of countless trees and power poles. The region experienced devastating wind gusts exceeding 70 mph.

The storm caused catastrophic damage to utility infrastructure, resulting in what Clearwater Power described as the most widespread outage and system damage the cooperative has ever experienced. The intense winds and falling timber damaged equipment, substations, and every single main distribution line across their expansive 5,000-square-mile electric system all at once. Fallen trees completely blocked roads and access points, while additional snow and wind following the initial event severely hampered repair progress. Outages persisted for over a week for some residents, with crews and mutual aid partners quadrupling the normal workforce to work through the Christmas holiday to fully restore power across the rugged landscape.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1307704. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.