Lightning, quarter-sized hail, 60 mph wind could hit Boise Wednesday. Here’s the timeline
Boise residents will endure a turbulent Wednesday afternoon and evening as severe storms capable of producing strong winds, lightning and hail are expected to move through the Treasure Valley.
The National Weather Service in Boise told the Idaho Statesman that storms are already forming in the upper Treasure Valley and likely will reach Boise by about 3 p.m. Storms will persist throughout the valley until about 10 p.m., Weather Service meteorologist Spencer Tangen told the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday morning.
The Weather Service is yet to issue a severe thunderstorm watch, but scattered thunderstorms with hail up to 1 inch in diameter and wind gusts up to 60 mph are possible. Hail 1-inch in diameter is comparable to a quarter.
A graphic posted by the Weather Service on social media indicates that most areas of the valley have about a 40% chance of thunderstorms — including Boise, which sits at 43%.
This doesn’t mean there’s only a 43% chance of storms happening as a whole — the Weather Service indicates an 80% chance of precipitation in the Treasure Valley on Wednesday. The 43% alludes to the chances of a thunderstorm hitting a specific location in the valley.
The chance of a thunderstorm hitting a specific location is below 50% because the storms are likely to be scattered, Tangen said.
“It’s not looking like a line of thunderstorms will be coming through,” Tangen said. “Right now it’s looking like thunderstorms are hit or miss in some areas.
“So that’s why we don’t have a more narrow time window on when thunderstorms will occur,” he continued. “They’ll just kind of be scattered throughout the late afternoon and early evening.”
The storms come ahead of a cold front set to plummet temperatures in Boise this weekend. Cold air will move in behind Wednesday evening’s storms, resulting in a low temperature of 34 degrees and a chance of snow in the early hours of Saturday morning.
This story was originally published April 3, 2024 at 12:42 PM.
