After weeks of warm and mostly sunny weather, Old Man Winter looks to be taking a tentative step back into the region.
Yesterday, the National Weather Service office in Pocatello issued a hazardous weather warning for eastern Idaho. In that warning, weather service officials predicted that driving conditions in eastern and southern Idaho could become hazardous due to blowing snow and fog.
According to Tuesday's forecast, snow was expected to arrive to the Wood River Valley overnight and into today, as another storm system moves in from the west.
The news will come as a small measure of relief to Idaho water managers, who have been watching the skies with increasing nervousness as local snowpacks began to wither in recent weeks.
As of Feb. 1, precipitation, snowpack and streamflow forecasts ranged from below average to average across the state, boosted by early January snows, a news release from the Natural Resources Conservation Service states. However, overall below-normal precipitation in January will make February and March moisture critical, the latest Idaho water supply outlook report released by the NRCS concludes.
Each winter, the NRCS tracks snowpack depths across the West, including in Idaho, and compares them with daily averages measured over recent decades.
"High pressure caused the jet stream to skirt the mountainous West, leaving most of Idaho nearly dry for the entire month," said Ron Abramovich, NRCS water supply specialist. "Sixty percent of Idaho's mountain snowpack comes in November, December and January. Hopefully February and March will have normal or above-normal precipitation to ensure an adequate water supply in the latter half of the summer."
For now, snowpacks across Idaho remain in the range of 80 to 100 percent of average, meaning more snow is needed just to maintain snowpacks at below to near-average levels. The long-term forecast from the weather service does indicate some amount of moisture may be arriving.
The forecast for the Ketchum area for the next week is:
Wednesday: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 12. Wind chill values as low as minus 2. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Wednesday night: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 5. Wind chill values as low as minus 7. Light west wind.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 13. North northwest wind between 3 and 7 mph.
Thursday night: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19.
Friday night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 4.
Saturday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17.
Saturday night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 6.
Sunday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
