Flood — Benewah, Idaho

2012-04-01 to 2012-04-03 · near Riverdale, Benewah, Idaho

Event narrative

The Saint Joe River at Saint Maries rose above the flood stage of 32.5 feet at 0300 PDT on March 31st, crested at 33.9 feet at 0600 PDT on April 1st, and receded below flood stage 2100 PDT on April 3rd. Saint Joe City Road flooded. Minor flooding was observed throughout low lying areas of the Saint Joe Valley and of the Aqua Park in Saint Maries.

Wider weather episode

A stagnant long wave pattern featuring a broad trough off the Pacific Northwest Coast and upper-level ridge over the central United States resulted in a parade of moist storm systems tracking through the Inland Northwest culminating on April 1st. An extended period of wet weather and low to mid elevation snowmelt through the final week of March resulted in high water levels on rivers and lakes in the Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe and Palouse River Basins. Daily rainfall accumulations ranged between a quarter to just over a half an inch for the week leading up to April 1st aside from March 28th. This concluded record setting precipitation totals for the month of March.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.3194, -116.5621)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 375174. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.