Wet, wild Thursday brings winds, rain, snow and warnings to Treasure Valley
With high, fast flows in the Boise River and a flood warning in place, Boise and Ada County officials have issued a “dangerous river condition” advisory in an attempt to keep people and pets from getting too close to the river.
And heavy rainfall and high winds are moving through the Treasure Valley Thursday, also hitting the Magic Valley and areas near the Nevada border. The weather service warned motorists to beware of wind gusts of up to 55 mph Thursday, especially on the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls and the Hansen Bridge east of Kimberly.
Midmorning Thursday, the rain changed to snow across parts of Boise.
Dropping snow levels will likely cheer skiers at Bogus Basin, which reports an inch of snow by 8 a.m. Thursday and predicts 3 to 5 inches of new snow by afternoon.
The dangerous river advisory was issued Wednesday afternoon by Boise’s fire, police and parks detertments, along with the Ada County Parks and Waterways.
Seven stretches of the Boise River Greenbelt are closed, including the 9th street tunnel,the boardwalk under the Capitol Boulevard Bridge, the path under the West Parkcenter Bridge at Logger Creek, the entire Bethine Church River Trail, two Greenbelt sections and a gravel nature path near Marianne Williams Park, and a section of Greenbelt from Main Street Tunnel to Trestle Bridge on north side of the Greenbelt. Away from the Greenbelt, Plantation Island east of the Western Idaho Fairgrounds is closed because of erosion concerns. For updated closures, check the city website.
The river flow hit 8,160 cfs around 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, and the flood warning will stay in place until further notice. Officials say water flows higher than 8,000 cfs make the river extremely dangerous.
As of 7:45 a.m. Thursday, flows were measured at 8180 cfs at the Glenwood Bridge in Boise, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been increasing the flow by releasing water from Lucky Peak reservoir to make room for an influx of water as deep snow melts.
The Ada County Board of Commissioners issued a flood disaster declaration this week for the county.
The NWS warned that if the Boise River reaches 8,900 cfs, or 11.3 feet, large sections of the Greenbelt will submerge and severe bank erosion will occur in Boise, Garden City, Eagle and Caldwell. If the river reaches this level, water will spill over its banks between 45th and 46th streets in Garden City, in the warehouse district.
This story was originally published March 29, 2017 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Wet, wild Thursday brings winds, rain, snow and warnings to Treasure Valley."