Flood — Minidoka, Idaho

2019-02-25 to 2019-02-28 · near Rupert, Minidoka, Idaho

Event narrative

Warm temperatures and rain associated with a long lasting atmospheric river led to extensive sheet flooding in Minidoka County. Several roads were closed in the Rupert and Paul areas with one gravel road washed away.

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.6779, -113.6700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810644. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.