Upper Snake River Plain storm history

A fatal accident occurred on December 17th at 715 Pm MST on S 15th St E in Idaho Falls near Sandy Downs. It was suspected weather may have been a factor as low visibility in fog and icy roads may have occurred. A car slid off the road and a second vehicle was attempting to get th…

A 30 year old man was found dead in a field near Parker Idaho. The cause was believed to be extended exposure to cold air. At the time of death wind chill temperatures were in the teens.

Two to 4 inches of snow fell in the Idaho Falls and Rigby area and several slide offs occurred on interstate 15. One of the slide offs resulted in an unfortunate indirect accident. An indirect death occurred on interstate 15 in Idaho Falls when a car slid off the highway into the…

Two to 4 inches of snow fell in the region creating extremely icy road conditions the morning of the 28th. A rollover caused one fatality on Highway 20 near Rexburg at around 8 am. Several other crashes and slideoffs were also reported. One rollover on interstate 15 near Shelley …

A fatality occurred on the evening of December 20th on interstate 15 northbound just north of the Shelley exit during a light snowfall which caused icy road conditions.

Although snow amounts were only in the 1 to 3 inch range roadways became very difficult after sunset with several accidents in the Idaho Falls area. One crash on interstate 15 north of the Dad's truck stop in Idaho falls caused a fatality.

A 21 month old girl died in Ammon when she was accidentally left in an automoblie and suffered heat stroke.

Widespread 55 to 65 mph wind gusts measured in the Upper Snake River Plain. The peak gust of 65 mph occurred at mesonet site D6 Ririe on US Highway 26. The Rexburg and ASOS site measured 56 mph with many sites 55 mph or above.

Measured wind gusts were 61 mph at Kettle Butte, 60 mph at the IDA Idaho Falle Airport ASOS site, 61 mph 2 miles north northwest of Ozone, 58 mph at Ririe mesonet site on US Highway 26, and 63 mph at Antelope Flats mesonet site on US Highway 26. A section of siding was blown off …

Fifty to 60 mph wind gusts were widespread during the afternoon of the 19th. The peak wind gust was 58 mph at Kettle Butte.

Blowing dust and ash from the Lava Trail Fire reduced visibility causing a shut down of Highway 20 for over 12 hours on the 6th and 7th. Winds gusted 35 to 45 mph.

A 110 acre fire developed 15 miles west of Idaho Falls near Hell's Half Acre Hiking Access. It began on August 6th in the afternoon and was contained by the 8th. The fire burned grass and brush in the lava fields.

A fire began July 11th near Red Road near St Anthony Sand Dunes on the afternoon and was completely extinguished on the 13th. The fire was quickly put out by fire fighters from several counties and a tanker dropped fire retardant on the fire on Saturday the 12th. It was a grass f…

Widespread wind gusts of 55 to 60 mph occurred during the afternoon of the 12th with blowing dust reported. The highest gust was 60 mph measured west of Osgood. Widespread 50 to 55 mph gusts occurred with both the Idaho Falls and Rexburg ASOS sites measuring over 50 mph gusts.

A strong cold front brought winds in excess of 50 mph to the area with power outages reported in the Idaho Falls area. Blowing snow impacted highway 26 leading to a closure of the highway from Ririe to Swan Valley. Multiple vehicle crashes reported prior to closing.

High winds combined with 1 to 4 inches of snow caused massive travel problems in the Upper Snake River Plain. Idaho Falls recorded a 64 mph wind on ASOS with 60 mph at Ucon and 58 mph at Osgood. A vehicle crash on interstate 14 north of Osgood blocked southbound lanes at 6 AM. In…

Several gusts over 50 mph occurred with the peak of 67 mph southwest of Hamer and 57 mph north of Parker. A 56 mph gust recorded at the Idaho Falls ASOS.

Widespread colder than -20 wind chill temperatures occurred in the Upper Snake River Plain. Some of the coldest readings were -29 at Sugar City, -23 at Osgood, and -21 at the Rexburg-Madison Airport.

Wind chill temperatures fell to well below -30 degrees in the Upper Snake River Plain with the coldest reading -53 two miles north northeast of Sugar City at 745 AM MST.

Light snowfall and winds caused very hazardous roadways. Only 1 to 3 inches of snow fell but US Highway 26 was closed from Ririe to Swan Valley due to blowing snow and reduced visibility. As many as 27 vehicles reportedly slid off of interstate 15 between Pocatello and Idaho Fall…

Fifty to 60 mph wind gusts were widespread with 61 mph and 59 mph gusts measured near Osgood.

A 59 mph wind gust was measured at the Sage Junction ITD RWIS site. Several wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph were measured during the afternoon of the 3rd.

Wind gusts behind a cold frontal passage persisted through the day with gusts generally in the 50 to 60 mph range from late morning through mid afternoon. Had some visibility restrictions down to 1 to 2 miles at times at the Idaho Falls airport and roadways. Thousands of customer…

Widespread 50 to 60 mph gusts were measured with 58 mph measured at the Idaho Falls ASOS site.

A strong Pacific storm system brought heavy snow, strong winds which caused excessive damage due to the heavy and wet nature of the snow. Several trees were downed with extensive power outages. Windy conditions and colder temperatures caused some road closures on the 4th. 15 thou…

Widespread 50 to 60 mph wind gusts caused whiteout conditions on eastbound State Highway 33 from Newdale to Tetonia. Several crashes occurred including a 7 vehicle one that closed State Highway between Newdale and Tetonia at 230 PM MST. There were multiple jackknifed semi trailer…

US Highway 26 closed from Ririe to Swan Valley from 1207 AM MST to 1057 AM MST on the 18th. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph combined with snowfall caused extensive blowing and drifting snow and near impossible snow removal. Snowfall reports were generally 1 to 3 inches with the event.

The Ririe RWIS site met blizzard conditions with over 4 hours of visibility below 1/4 mile with wind gusts 50 to 60 mph. It had a peak gust of 61 mph at 500 AM MST. Gusts of 45 to 55 mph were common at other sites throughout the Snake River Plain. US Highway 26 was closed due to …

A school but was hit by a pickup truck and slid into a ditch near Teton Lakes Golf Course in Rexburg. No injuries occurred. The town of Parker recorded 7 inches of snow.

Localized heavy snow fell with the COOP observer in Rigby measuring 6 inches with 5 inches in Rexburg and 3.5 inches at KIFI in Idaho Falls.

Localized heavy snow fell with the COOP observer in Rigby measuring 6 inches with 5 inches in Rexburg and 3.5 inches at KIFI in Idaho Falls.

One to 4 inches of snowfall combined with strong winds to cause hazardous travel and power outages in the region. Close to 300 customers were reported without power in the Menan area. Fremont County emergency manager reported minor injuries from a vehicle rollover west of St Anth…

About 1 to 2 inches of snow fell causing hazardous roads and black ice. Jefferson County School District 251 delayed opening by 2 hours due to the hazardous roads.

Two to 3 inches of snow fell in Rexburg and Idaho Falls and law enforcement reported multiple slide offs and accidents on US Highway 20 just south of Rexburg on the morning of the 1st. Slick roads were the likely cause of many of the accidents.

One to two inches of hail accumulated on roads near St Anthony to near Ashton which resulted in at least two weather related accidents.

Interstate 15 closed at 649 PM MDT on the 27th due to wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph causing blowing dust and zero visibility from Shelley to Roberts.

Idaho State Highway 33 was closed on the morning of the 13th from Newdale to Tetonia due to snow and strong winds causing drifting and blowing snow. Amounts were in the 2 to 4 inch range.

Extreme wind gusts in the 35 to 60 mph range combined with light snow to cause State Highway 33 to close from Newdale to Tetonia on the afternoon of the 1st until the 2nd. Blowing and drifting snow caused visibility near zero at times.

Heavy snow and strong winds brought very hazardous travel to the region. Strong winds caused extensive blowing and drifting snow and US Highway 26 closed on the 25th from Ririe to Swan Valley and Idaho Highway 33 was closed from Newdale to Tetonia. Measured snow amounts were 5 in…

Four to 6 inches of snow fell in the Idaho Falls area overnight on the 20th into the 21st.

Widespread 50 mph and greater wind gusts were recorded on the 15th with a peak of 59 mph at Kettle Butte. Rexburg Madison Airport recorded 54 mph and the Idaho Falls Airport measured 52 mph. Idaho Highway 33 was closed to extreme winds causing whiteout conditions at 1115 AM on th…

Strong winds and snowfall with a Pacific storm system closed Idaho Highway 33 from Newdale to Tetonia. 2 to 4 inches of snow fell in the Idaho Falls area. Wind gusts were widespread at 50 to 70 mph with a peak of 67 mph at the Idaho Falls Airport ASOS. 66 mph was measured at Robe…

Another round of snow and extreme wind gusts over 40 mph caused extensive road closures. Residents of Roberts were advised to shelter in place due to the extreme road conditions and Roberts Elementary School was closed on the 27th. Jefferson School District 251 Roberts residents …

Heavy snow and wind gusts over 40 mph caused State Highway 33 to close from Newdale to Tetonia. Recorded snow amounts were 6 inches at Sugar City and 5 inches at Saint Anthony.

Heavy snow combined with wind gusts up to 40 mph and higher closed roads and schools on the 14th and 15th due to hazardous road conditions. Th following schools were closed on the 14th: Bonneville Joint District 93, Fremont District 215, Jefferson District 251, Ririe District 252…

Some of the extreme cold temperatures recorded on the 30th were the following: Sugar City -39, Rigby -35, Thornton -33, Osgood -33, Ucon -30, Idaho Falls Airport -30, and Roberts -30. Wind choll readings were colder than 50 below zero. Due to the extreme cold the following school…

Heavy snow fell with 8 inches in Shelley, 11 inches in Archer, 9 inches in Ammon, 6 inches in Rigby, and 12 inches in Sugar City.

A quick burst of freezing rain in Idaho Falls the morning of the 27th caused at least 29 crashes on the black ice on local roadways. The G street overpass was closed for several hours due to clean up and several multi vehicle accidents occurred.