Winter Storm — Upper Snake Highlands, Idaho

2018-02-24 to 2018-02-26 · Upper Snake Highlands, Idaho

Event narrative

Very heavy snow combined with strong winds to close the following roads on the 25th: Highway 32 from Ashton to Tetonia, Highway 87 from Raynolds Pass to the Junction of Highway 20 near Henry's Lake, Highway 20 from Ashton to the Montana border, and interstate 15 from Dubois to the Montana border. Whiteout conditions were reported with several slide offs. Snow amounts of 10 inches at Island Park SNOTEL and 25 inches at White elephant SNOTEL were reported. 7 inches was reported by the Dubois COOP observer. The Island Park COOP observer recorded 26.4 inches and Harriman State Park carried 24 inches. The Fremont County School District 215 and Teton School District 401 were both closed on the 26th due to the difficult travel conditions.

Wider weather episode

Heavy snow and strong winds occurred for a three day period mainly over the weekend. The worst conditions were in the Upper Snake Highlands where two feet of snow fell in the Island Park area fell with many road closures. A dust storm closed interstate 15 north of Idaho Falls on the 25th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 742246. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.