Flood — Latah, Idaho

2011-03-31 · near Howell, Latah, Idaho

Event narrative

North Latah County Road Department reported water over roadways along portions of Randle Flat Creek Road and Driscoll Ridge Road near Troy, Idaho.

Wider weather episode

A stationary trough of low pressure off the Pacific Northwest Coast steered a deep fetch of subtropical moisture into the Idaho Panhandle which persisted from March 29th through early April. This resulted in several rounds of moderate to heavy precipitation, which primarily fell as rain below 6000 feet. Mild temperatures and breezy winds accompanying the subtropical moisture feed resulted in excessive mid-elevation snowmelt. The combination of heavy rainfall and excessive snow melt resulted in sharp rises in most basins within the Central Idaho Panhandle and Idaho Palouse. In addition, saturated soils became unstable in some locations resulting in debris flows.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (46.7506, -116.7921)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 285325. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.