Winter Storm — Big Hole Mountains, Idaho

2019-02-23 to 2019-02-28 · Big Hole Mountains, Idaho

Event narrative

The Pine Creek Pass SNOTEL recorded 21.5 inches of snow during the long event. US Highway 33 was closed from Victor to the Wyoming state line on the 25th and Highway 31 was also closed west of Victor on the 25th.

Wider weather episode

An extended atmospheric river event occurred for an entire week. Extremely heavy snow fell in the mountains with amounts at SNOTEL sites reaching as high as 5 to 8 feet for the week. Many roads closed through the mountains. Schools closed and some sheet flooding began mainly in Bingham and Minidoka counties where temperatures warmed significantly. Avalanches also occurred in the central mountains with the heavy snowfall accompanied with warmer temperatures. The storm wrapped up a month of record snowfall in the Upper Snake Highlands where the Island Park COOP observer recorded over 100 inches for the month.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810601. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.