A surprising amount of snow just fell in Boise. Here’s how much, what’s still to come
Treasure Valley residents woke up to another fresh layer of snow Wednesday morning, and this latest round provided more than expected.
About 2.5 inches of snow fell in downtown Boise starting Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Suazanna Lindeman told the Idaho Statesman. Heavier totals fell in other areas of the Treasure Valley, including up to 3 inches in Nampa, 4.4 inches in Caldwell and between 3 to 4 inches in the foothills.
U.S. 20 remained closed from milepost 96 in Mountain Home to milepost 152 in Fairfield due to blowing snow and low visibility.
The Weather Service initially forecast only about half an inch of snow on Tuesday before a calmer and sunnier Wednesday and Thursday, but had to adjust their models on Tuesday night.
“A mesolow northwest of a stronger upper-level low that was to our southwest formed and created these bands of snow that collected along the foothills,” Lindeman said. “It allowed us to get heavier totals than we were initially expecting, like earlier in the week.”
A mesolow is an area of low pressure typically accompanied by storms near and just ahead of the direction it is heading.
The season total for snow at the Boise Airport — where the Weather Service records its official totals — now stands at 21.7 inches, about 4 inches above normal.
We’re not done yet, Boise
March 1 signifies the meteorological start of spring, but it won’t feel very springlike in Boise for a while.
The Weather Service says there is another chance for snow on Thursday night into Friday morning, with about half an inch expected in Boise. Another wave of precipitation will move into the area on Saturday night into Sunday morning, as a strong upper-level low moves into the region.
“We could see accumulations in the Boise area up to maybe an inch,” Lindeman said. “But it’s looking like right now, at least, we won’t really see those chances for those heavier snow bands to form, but that’s not out of the question yet because it is quite a ways away.”
Although temperatures will slowly rise throughout March — the average high on March 1 is 50 degrees and will rise to 58 degrees by the end of the month — there’s still a good chance that Boise won’t hit those marks very often.
The Climate Prediction Center forecasts that Boise has a 60-70% chance of below-average temperatures and a 50-60% chance of above-average precipitation for the next month.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 12:24 PM.
