Lightning, wind, rain and ... snow? Boise area getting hit with latest round of storms
Spring weather in Idaho has become a good guessing game.
Wind, rain, snow, thunder, below-normal temperatures — take your pick and there’s a good chance Boise will get it.
But once in a while, such as Monday afternoon and evening, and heading into Tuesday, the Treasure Valley gets those conditions all at once.
A line of storms started passing through on Monday, bringing pockets of heavy rain, along with thunder and lightning.
The heaviest storms quickly passed through the valley, National Weather Service meteorologist Stefanie Henry told the Idaho Statesman, but rain will continue throughout the evening and into Tuesday, with temperatures in the 40s.
“We are expecting quite a bit more rain to return this evening, late tonight and into the morning hours (Tuesday), tapering off by late morning,” Henry said.
And yes, some of that precipitation might fall as snow, especially in the Boise Foothills. Bogus Basin and the peaks around it could receive up to 8 inches of snow, Henry said.
Henry said winds peaked at 44 mph as the storms blew through midafternoon, causing reports of small items being blown over, such as trash cans. Some snowflakes were also reported throughout the Treasure Valley, Henry said.
The Boise area should see around 0.06 inches of precipitation by Tuesday morning, Henry said, but some Treasure Valley locations could receive as much as an inch.
That’s already an improvement on the low rainfall totals the Boise area experienced last month. Just 1.15 inches of rain fell in Boise in April.
Wind advisory for Boise
The weather service also issued a wind advisory for the Boise area from 6 p.m. Monday until noon Tuesday. Sustained winds will be 25-35 mph, with gusts of 50 mph expected.
The worst of the windy conditions can be expected in south-central Idaho, around Mountain Home, Henry said, but Boise will be on the edge of that.
“Gusty winds could blow unsecured objects around,” the NWS advisory states. “Difficult driving conditions for high profile vehicles.”
Conditions will improve Tuesday afternoon, with temperatures reaching the low 60s. Boise is forecast for a high of 70 on Wednesday and 73 on Thursday — but enjoy that while you can. It will be in the 50s again over the weekend, well below normal temperatures for early May.
