Winter Storm — Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho

2017-01-07 to 2017-01-11 · Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho

Event narrative

The COOP observer in Stanley received 31 inches of snow from this storm bringing the snow depth in the city to 47 inches. A warehouse and garage collapsed in Custer County and it was declared a disaster area. Idaho Highway 75 was closed out of Stanley to Galena Summit and Highway 21 was closed. Highway 75 was also closed from Stanley to Clayton. For a time on the 11th and 12th you could not drive into or out of Stanley. Snow amounts from SNOTEL sites were the following: Bear Canyon 38 inches, Mill Creek Summit 50 inches, Smiley Mountain 44 inches, and Stickney Mill 33 inches.

Wider weather episode

A long dawn out atmospheric river event brought a variety of impacts to southeast Idaho including extremely heavy mountain snow, valley snow then rain on snow leading to flooding and roads covered with ice in the Snake River Plain, and many mountain avalanches. Many roads were closed for extended periods due to the heavy snow and avalanches. Custer County was declared a disaster area due to the prodigious snow amounts. An emergency declaration was signed in Cassia County due to the flooding.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 676857. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.