Winter Storm — South Central Highlands, Idaho

2017-01-22 to 2017-01-24 · South Central Highlands, Idaho

Event narrative

A very powerful Pacific storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to the South Central Highlands. COOP observers reported 13.5 inches of snow in Malad City and 7.2 inches in Malta. SNOTEL amounts were 17 inches at Magic Mountain, 9 inches at Bostetter Ranger Station, 13 inches at Howell Canyon, and 22 inches at Oxford Springs. Oneida County schools were closed on the 23rd and 24th and Cassia County Schools were closed on the 24th. Snow and wind closed Highway 38 from Malad to Holbrook on the 23rd and 24th. Highway 77 was closed from Malta to Declo. Highway 81 was closed from milepost 0.5 in Malta to milepost 15.

Wider weather episode

The latest in a long line of winter storms again brought very heavy snowfall as well as winds to southeast Idaho. The heaviest snow mainly affected the Eastern Magic Valley, Snake River Plain and all of the southern mountains. Many areas received over a foot of snowfall and again many roads experienced closures across southeast Idaho.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 677840. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.