Eastern Lemhi County storm history

The Gibbonsville COOP reported a 2-day snow total of 13 inches of snow. A CoCoRaHS observer in Salmon recorded 5.8 inches of snow.

In Salmon, the COOP observer reported 5 inches of snowfall. Lost Trail Pass saw periods of heavy snow and blowing snow at times. The Moose Creek SNOTEL, located just south of the pass, reported 14 inches of snow depth increase during the storm.

Lemhi County County dispatch reported at least 3 trees were down. There were multiple weather stations that reported wind gusts above 70 mph for multiple hours. The Idaho Power station on Sandy Creek Road recorded a sustained wind speed of 48 mph with a peak gust of 76 mph at 090…

Snowfall totals ranged from 1.5 inches in Salmon, to 6.7 inches in Gibbonsville, to over a foot of snow at Lost Trail Pass. Snowfall changed to rain in the Salmon area at night while low temperatures were below freezing which implies black ice issues.

Snowfall reports of 4 to 8 inches were common for Leadore and Gilmore Summit. Ten inches of snow occurred at North Basin, located just north of Watson Peak. While paved roads remained clear overall, backcountry routes were snow-covered.

The Lemhi County Roads Department described the storm as a 'high-end event'. They reported 3 inches of snow overnight in Salmon, followed by another 4 inches between 0600 and 1000, for a storm total of 7 inches. Snow falling on already icy roads made travel very difficult, prompt…

Heavy snow fell initially, with up to 10 inches of accumulation near Gibbonsville and 8 inches in Salmon. During the day, melting snow caused water to accumulate on roadways, which turned to ice after dark due to ground temperatures remaining well below freezing. A weather spotte…

Snow covered the roads across Lemhi County during the morning of the 3rd. A weather spotter in Gibbonsville reported 5 inches of snowfall and the COOP in Salmon reported 2 inches.

Multiple trees were blown down along the Salmon River, west of the North Fork area. Wind gusts over 50 mph were common at a lot of weather stations in the valleys.

Widespread freezing temperatures occurred with readings from the upper 20s to lower 30s observed. Damage occurred to unprotected sensitive vegetation.

Salmon saw four days of 100 degree temperatures and the highest reading was 102 degrees set on the 24th. Leadore reached 95 degrees on the 24th.

From 0.1 to 0.4 inch of snow water equivalent fell, estimated at 1 to 3 inches of snow.

Prefrontal winds were strong at Gilmore Summit with a 67 mph gust. The front itself brought a brief period (1 to 2 hours) of gusty winds and heavy snow. Snow accumulations were generally an inch or less for valley locations.

Snow amounts of 6 to 7 inches fell in Gibbonsville, while Salmon recieved 3 inches of new snow.

Snow totals include: 8 to 12 inches above 5,000 feet, with 2 inches in Salmon.

The Idaho Department of Transportation closed Idaho 29 between Leadore and Bannock Pass due to the combination of heavy snow and blowing and drifting snow. A period of intense snowfall, with wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph associated with snow squalls, was observed, particularly on Id…

The lowest wind chill values observed ranged between -20F and -30F.

Morning lows of -15F to -25F were common in eastern Lemhi County. An extreme cold value of -33F occurred at Leadore.

The Gibbonsville COOP reported 5.2 inches of snow while Leadore only received 0.4 inches. The Saddle Mountain SNOTEL above Lost Trail Ski Resort reported 9 inches of snow.

Snow Squall Strong wind gusting to 35 mph with blizzard conditions were reported in Salmon. Observations showed that temperatures dropped from near 40 degrees to the upper 20s with the squall which likely contributed to icy conditions. Estimated total snowfall in Salmon was 1 inc…

The Schwartz Lake SNOTEL received 0.60 inches of snow water equivalent which could equate to around 10 inches. The Leadore COOP reported 3 inches of snow and the ITD webcam at Gilmore Summit showed snow-covered roads.

Slick conditions were observed at Lost Trail Pass and Gilmore Summit due to moderate to heavy snow. Drifting at Gilmore due to southerly winds to 26 mph made it difficult to mitigate the snow-covered Highway 28. A weather spotter in Salmon reported 1.5 inches of snow while the Sa…

Up to a foot of snow was observed above 6000 feet, impacting backcountry users. Highway 93 was also slick and snow covered at Lost Trail Pass multiple times.

Heavy snow in Salmon led to school closures on April 12th. Five inches of snow was reported in nearby Carmen.

Heavy snow fell, ranging from 16 inches in Salmon to 22 inches in Gibbonsville over a 3 day period, and caused difficult travel in Lemhi County.

With widespread measured wind gusts from 50s to 60s mph and the highest measured of 86 mph at Kriley creek RAWs, close to 1000 customers lost power during the event.

Widespread valley lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s caused damage to sensitive vegetation. The lowest reading was 29 degrees in downtown Salmon.

Appropriately 40 mature Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir trees were blown down along 4th of July Creek Road northeast of Carmen. Several campers were trapped by the falling trees. In addition, around 20 cottonwood and aspen trees were either uprooted or had tops snapped out along C…

The Darkhorse Lake SNOTEL reported 19 inches of total snowfall with this event, while 9 inches fell at Schwartz Lake. The Schwartz Lake SNOTEL reported a 24 hour precipitation total of 1.80 inches which is the highest amount reported for any time of the year, going back to 1995. …

Radar measured up to 30 dBZ reflectivity at 20 thousand feet MSL in a band parallel to a cold front over Highway 93 from Lost Trail Pass south to North Fork, ID. After a tweet reported whiteout conditions at the pass, a snow squall warning was issued, which was an upgrade to the …

As the cold front advanced south, the snow band stayed organized via radar, therefore a snow squall warning was issued for the city of Salmon, ID. A known observer and snow plow operator called in whiteout conditions and reported snowfall accumulations of 2.5 inches. The AWOS at …

The same squall line with the cold front continued to progress southward in Lemhi County. Whiteout conditions were reported along Highway 28.

There were widespread snow accumulations of 10 to 20 inches, with up to 3 feet of snow that fell at the Williams Creek Summit over a 2 day period. Schools were closed for the first time during the 2019-2020 winter.

Heavy snowfall was reported across northern areas of eastern Lemhi County. Salmon was impacted by 8 inches of snowfall while areas along US 93 between Gibbonsville to Lost Trail Pass saw 12 inches. Blowing snow also caused significantly reduced visibility on Idaho Highway 28 betw…

Wind gusts to 43 mph caused whiteout conditions with multiple car slide-offs. Snow in the valley produced generally light amounts, but the USFS office in Leadore did measure 7.

Snow amounts of 4 to 8 inches were observed above 4000 feet with some locations above 7000 feet, reporting over 12 inches of snow. Also, wind gusts to 35 mph were observed on the higher terrain. Backcountry users experienced difficult travel with periodic slippery, snow-covered, …

Strong winds were observed during the evening of the 6th in Salmon as well as in the neighboring foothills west and south of town. The peak gust of 59 mph was measured by a trained spotter just west of downtown Salmon with other sites measuring wind gust to 50 mph. Several large …

A spotter saw at least three decidous trees that were knocked down along US-12 east of Kooskia. One tree came down onto a trailer at the River Junction RV Park. Two sheds at the park were blown over by the wind gusts. The spotter heard reports of trees down across US-12, farther …

Snow and blowing snow across eastern Lemhi County resulted in a period of difficult driving conditions. Wind gust to 40 miles per hour were observed at Gilmore Summit which lofted snow and reduced visibility to near a quarter mile at times. One person who frequents State Hwy 28 d…

The COOP observer at the KSRA radio station in Salmon recorded a low of 28 degrees.

Sixteen to eighteen inches of heavy snow was reported in the foothills southeast of Leadore. Visibility reduced to one half mile or less at Gilmore Summit on Highway 28 due to snow during the morning and afternoon hours on the 15th.

Warm weather and rain helped prime conditions for multiple snow slides that covered roads in Lemhi county. The Idaho Transportation Department reported one 100 ft wide and 10 ft high snow slide on Hwy 93 north of Salmon, ID that completely blocked the road for 1.5 hours. Four oth…

Idaho Transportation Department reported slick roads due to freezing rain and black ice. Roads were also closed south of Salmon due to the threat of an avalanche.

Very strong winds caused a sale barn from the Lemhi County Fairgrounds to collapse during this event. A person who lives near the fairgrounds observed that the windows of his trailer home flexed during the high winds. No sensor was nearby to record the wind speed, but there is a …

Heavy snow was reported between North Fork and Salmon during the storm where up to 7 inches of snow fell. The Salmon schools were closed due to snowy road conditions.

Anywhere from 2 inches in the valleys to 8 inches in the mountains fell with this event. The cold front moved through on the evening of Dec. 4th creating gusty winds between 20 and 36 mph, blowing snow, and below zero wind chills at Bannock Pass and other ridge-top locations. The…

Salmon reported a temperature of 21 degrees and other valleys also reported temperatures in the low to mid 20s.

Lost Trail Pass received 21 inches of snow with periods of blowing snow during this event. Wind gusts to 25 mph were reported at 10 pm MST on the 12th which contributed to lower visibility from the falling and blowing snow. Snow plows had a hard time keeping up at times at Lost T…

On Dec. 7 at 2pm MST, a Lemhi County official reported that area roads were very slick due to freezing rain. Salmon schools were closed on Dec. 8 because side roads were very slick. The local newspaper reported that there were road closures. The COOP observer in Salmon reported a…

The Saddle Mountain RAWS at 7900 ft reported 4 inches of snow overnight, with the nearby Deer Mountain RAWS reporting wind gusts of 63 mph during the early morning hours, making for dangerous back-country conditions.