Blizzard — South Central Highlands, Idaho

2016-12-23 to 2016-12-25 · South Central Highlands, Idaho

Event narrative

A blizzard hit the South Central Highlands over the Christmas weekend with interstate 84 shut down from the interstate 86 junction to the Utah border. Visibility was reduced to zero in places with winds gusting to over 50 mph along the interstate, especially at Yale Road. Snow amounts with the storm from SNOTEL sites were: 6 inches at Bostetter Ranger Station, 20 inches at Howell Canyon, 7 inches at Magic Mountain, and 17 inches at Oxford Springs.

Wider weather episode

Another prolonged winter storm affected the entirety of southeast Idaho beginning in the mountains during the day on the 23rd and spreading east through the Snake River Plain and eastern highlands on the 24th and continuing through Christmas day. Every single zone in the Pocatello forecast area was affected by this storm with extremely heavy snowfall, strong winds and horrible driving conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 672320. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.