Another severe storm hit Boise on Tuesday. Here’s how much rain fell, and what’s ahead
It seems Boise’s week of severe thunderstorms has ended, but not without one last thunderous bang Tuesday night.
Storms that formed around the Idaho-Oregon border Tuesday afternoon reached Boise around 11 p.m., with one powerful storm tracking along the Foothills just north of the city.
The heaviest rain stayed along the Foothills, meaning spectators as close as downtown Boise only enjoyed the light show and a brief shower. The National Weather Service, which measures rainfall totals at the Boise Airport, only recorded 0.05 inches of rain — barely enough to be measured.
But it was a different story for Eagle, Northwest Boise, Hidden Springs and the North End, which were all in the firing line of the heaviest rainfall. A flood advisory was issued for parts of the Foothills in Ada and Gem Counties until 2:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Weather Service meteorologist Les Colin told the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday morning that the Weather Service had received reports of eight inches of standing water in Eagle. He also said the Eagle area, which was likely hit hardest, received at least an inch of rain and possibly over two inches.
Tuesday night’s storm was the latest in a flurry of weather events over the past two weeks, making the Treasure Valley feel more like the Midwest plains. There was flooding in West Boise in late May, and then a week later, another storm caused heavy flooding and road closures around downtown Boise.
Interspersed between those two events were several other nights of thunderstorms, resulting in a streak of eight days and counting of measurable rainfall in Boise. That streak will tick over to nine days, considering that part of Tuesday night’s storm leaked into early Wednesday morning, but the streak will likely end there.
A warm and unstable air mass had been sitting over Idaho for several weeks, resulting in numerous days of thunderstorms. But that air mass has finally been forced out, Colin said, resulting in a return to the calm and dry weather that Boiseans are used to.
“(Cooler air) came from the Gulf of Alaska,” Colin said. “A much colder low-pressure system in the upper atmosphere came across the Northwest through Washington; now it’s centered over northern Idaho and moving east into Alberta and northwest Montana.”
The Weather Service forecasts clear skies and warming temperatures throughout the rest of the work week until there’s a 20% chance of rain on Saturday.
