Here’s how much rain fell so far this week in Boise. But what can we expect on Halloween?
If you stepped outside on Thursday morning, felt the crisp air on your cheeks, and saw the low clouds hanging over the snow-capped Boise Foothills, you’d never believe it was sunny and 80 degrees just a week ago.
But alas, here we are. Winter has truly arrived in Idaho, and it’s here to stay.
A cold front and associated snowstorm moved through the Gem State on Wednesday afternoon, bringing the first significant snowfall of the year for many higher elevations and a deluge of rain for the valleys.
Here’s how much precipitation fell last night across the state and what the forecast looks like for Boise going forward.
A night of rain and snow
The worst rain came and went in Boise by about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, but approximately 0.33 inches of rain fell over a couple of hours. Surprisingly, it’s not the heaviest rainfall Boise has received this year — the city received 0.47 inches on Oct. 1.
But while Boise was getting rain, elevations above 5,500 feet enjoyed fresh snow.
Bogus Basin — just 12 miles north of Boise — picked up its first four inches of snow of the season. The National Weather Service in Boise also reported at least 7 inches at Tamarack Ski Resort, and 6 inches at Brundage Mountain.
What’s Boise’s forecast moving forward?
Despite the early-season snowfall, the Gem State will soon fall into the warm and dry pattern typically associated with an El Niño winter.
But before then, the cold front that moved in on Wednesday will stick around for a few more days.
“Temperatures will be around 10 degrees below normal through the weekend,” Weather Service meteorologist Dave Groenert told the Idaho Statesman. “A widespread freeze is expected Friday morning, which will bring the growing season to a close.”
The low temperature will drop to 26 degrees on Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the Weather Service, while highs will peak in the mid-40s over the weekend.
The Weather Service predicts that Boise will have a 41% chance of dipping below freezing on Friday morning and a 90% chance on Saturday morning.
Once the cold front moves on, Groenert said temperatures will return to normal from next week. By Halloween, temperatures will have warmed up to 53 degrees during the day and 33 degrees at night.
The average high in Boise for late October is 57 degrees, and the average low is 36.
