One of winter’s strongest snowstorms hit Idaho. Here’s how much dropped around state
One of Idaho’s strongest snowstorms of the season came and went this past week, dumping more than a foot of snow at some of Idaho’s most popular ski resorts.
The National Weather Service, which monitors snow stakes across the Gem State to measure localized snowfall, recorded 13 inches at Tamarack Resort, 7 inches at Bogus Basin and over 5 inches at Brundage Mountain by Thursday.
Sun Valley Resort in Blaine County reported 4 inches in 72 hours, but the heaviest snowfall fell in the west-central Boise Mountains, Weather Service meteorologist Sophia Adams told the Idaho Statesman.
One of the heavier storm systems of the season
The storm system that passed through eastern Oregon and Idaho last week is the same system that just dumped over a foot of snow in the northern Plains, including in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Adams said it’s difficult to tell whether it was the strongest winter storm of the season nationwide because of how widespread it was, but it was in the top two storms of the season in Idaho.
In early December, a “convective” storm system popped up over Idaho, dropping more than 5 inches of snow in Boise over four days. Convective systems are more challenging to predict because the storms have a “popcorn effect,” Adams said, making it harder to forecast local snow amounts.
Boise received larger amounts than expected during that storm because bands of snow lined up perfectly over the city and continually dropped snow over a long period.
“You can have higher snow totals a mile away compared to having less like 2 or 3 miles away from the heavier location,” Adams said on Thursday.
But the storm last weekend was stratiform precipitation, meaning the snow was spread more evenly across a wider expanse of land. Although snow totals weren’t as extreme in localized areas, it was more widespread throughout the state and into the upper Plains.
More snow to come
Boise missed out on the majority of the snowfall, picking up about two-tenths of an inch. Boise then received about an inch of snow Wednesday night.
The Weather Service is forecasting another system to move into the state, but Boise likely will miss out on that. The city has a 40% chance of snow showers on Sunday, a 30% chance on Monday and a 40% chance on Tuesday, but little to no accumulation is expected.
But the Boise Mountains and ski resorts will be in store for a fresh round of snow.
“West-Central and the Boise Mountains can see upwards of maybe 5 to 8 inches,” Adams said. “The valleys can see 2 to 4 inches of additional accumulation from Sunday to Monday.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2023 at 4:00 AM.
