Boise-area snowfall entraps motorists, and angry drivers didn’t help. More snow coming

It has been the Treasure Valley’s biggest snowfall of the winter.

More than 9 inches fell at the Boise Airport between Thursday, when the storm arrived, and 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said in a tweet. That’s the 13th-highest total for a two-day storm since records began in 1892.

Friday’s snowfall total also set a record for Feb. 12 of 4.4 inches, the Weather Service said. The old record was 1.3 inches in 1966.

The storm forced Boise police to close a 4-1/2-mile section of the westbound lanes of Interstate 84 for about 2-1/2 hours Friday night — the second time police closed a freeway segment in the city that day. Traffic was barred between Gowen Road and Orchard Street.

“There have been multiple crashes involving multiple vehicles on I-84 in the last 20 minutes,” the police said in a tweet at 6:35 p.m.

Crashes and slide-offs were a problem much of Friday, though no serious injuries were reported. Boise police closed the inbound and outbound Interstate 184 Connector near downtown during Friday morning’s rush hour.

Roadways were slippery Friday not only from snow and ice, but because rain fell before snow did while temperatures hovered around freezing. That prevented Idaho Transportation Department crews from treating highways with magnesium chloride, the department said. Magnesium chloride boosts the effectiveness of salt on melting snow.

A “rain-before-snow weather event” makes it “more challenging to maintain roadways that are free of snow and ice compared to a straight snowstorm,” ITD said in a news release.

A few slide-offs created a snowball effect that resulted in significant travel delays Friday, the department said. “Just a few crashes can be enough to gum up the whole system,” ITD Operations Manager Michael Garz said.

Angry drivers didn’t help, Garz said.

“One of my operators on I-84 was trying to get in front of traffic to clear the road using the shoulder, and people were pulling off the travel lane to block the shoulder and prevent him from getting to the trouble spot,” Garz said. “I’m imploring the public to please reduce their anger, be considerate, and help us do our job to serve you.”

Idaho State Police said some impatient Connector drivers were using shoulder lanes, which are not meant for traffic.

“On I-184 this AM, troopers on a crash were passed by a driver going too fast for conditions, going between the patrol cars & the barrier,” State Police said in a tweet, accompanied by a dashboard video. “That’s not a lane of travel. One trooper was standing nearby. Thankfully, no one was hurt.”

One hotel along the closed section of I-84 on Friday night reported only a few check-ins by travelers as of 9:15 p.m.

“We just had somebody come in, from North Idaho, who said some guy right in front of him lost control of his car,” said Austin Mack, a front-desk manager at the Quality Inn Airport, 2526 W. Airport Way. “He was thankful he had a room now.”

Bogus Basin: Bogus Basin Road was closed briefly Friday night, but skiers and snowboarders were taking advantage of the snow on Saturday. Lift tickets at the Bogus Basin ski area were sold out for Saturday and Sunday, and for day skiing on Monday, President’s Day, a holiday for many workers. Up to 8 inches of additional snow was forecast to fall at Bogus on Saturday.

Avalanche danger: The risk of avalanches was deemed moderate in Idaho’s West Central Mountains, including the Tamarack and Brundage ski resorts. ]

“Natural avalanches are unlikely, but human triggered avalanches remain possible,” the Friends of the Payette Avalanche Center said Saturday on Facebook. “Expect increasing avalanche hazard as new snow begins to pile up over the next few days.”

Snowpocalypse: The snow reminded some Boiseans of the heavy snows in the winter of 2016-17, known locally as snowmageddon or snowpocalypse. Snow on the ground reached 15 inches Jan. 5, 2017, a record. It made for great skiing, but the lack of plowing on residential streets in Ada County brought residents’ wrath down upon the Ada County Highway District, which later bought additional plows so it would be better prepared in the future.

Sunday and Monday forecast: A cold front began to move into the valley from the west Saturday afternoon, with the snow expected to taper off, but not before the front’s wind gusts of up to 40 mph could blow it around. Forecasters said Sunday would be partly sunny and dry, but another storm would reach the Boise area late Sunday night and could deposit 3” to 4” of snow by Tuesday morning.

This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Boise-area snowfall entraps motorists, and angry drivers didn’t help. More snow coming."