18Apr 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Climatologists: El Nino coming, could be a strong one

Idaho News
By Don Jenkins; Capital Press Federal climatologists Thursday predicted the return of El Nino, a phenomenon associated with warm Northwest winters and low snowpacks. The odds favor a weak El Nino forming between May and July and gaining strength in the fall, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center. The center projected a 41% chance that a strong El Nino will prevail by the winter. It would be the first strong El Nino since 2014-15, a winter of historically low snowpacks in Oregon and Washington, and the first El Nino of any strength since 2018-19. El Nino's opposite, La Nina, has reigned the past three winters. Spring forecasts are shaky, but wind anomalies and a wave of warm water moving toward South America support the prediction that El…
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05Apr 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

HISTORIC SNOWFALL: Relentless storm dumps as much as 20 inches of snow on Pocatello area, causes police to plead with motorists to stay off roads

Idaho News
By Journal Staff; Idaho State Journal The National Weather Service is describing the snowstorm that has thus far dumped as much as 20 inches of snow on the Pocatello area as a historic event. The storm arrived early Monday evening and has caused numerous wrecks on local roads, resulted in the city of Pocatello and Bannock County shutting down non-essential services and buildings, and prompted Pocatello police to repeatedly plead with motorists to stay home and refrain from driving until conditions improve. Thanks to the storm, this winter is now among the top five snowiest ever in Pocatello, the National Weather Service said. As of Tuesday afternoon, just over 71 inches of snow has fallen in Pocatello this winter. That’s about 22 inches shy of breaking the city’s all-time snow…
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31Mar 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho experiences ‘impressive’ water year

Idaho News
By Carol Ryan Duman; Capital Press After years of water supply shortages and drought, basins in southeastern Idaho have received well above normal precipitation this winter. Not only are all basins well above normal for precipitation and snow water equivalent, but recent snowfall has brought record to near-record snow depths as well, the Natural Resources Conservation Service reported in its March 1 Water Supply Outlook report. “With over a month to go in the snow accumulation season, there is plenty of time for more snow to fall in this already impressive water year,” NRCS hydrologists said. Since the last report, snowpack percentages compared to the 30-year median snowpack slightly increased in the Panhandle, Clearwater, Salmon Falls and Willow-Blackfoot-Portneuf basins and decreased in the rest of the state. “In other words,…
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15Feb 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Experts hopeful snowpack helps buck Idaho’s drought conditions

Idaho News
By Carolyn Komatsoulis; Idaho Press Mores Creek and the Robie Creek region is seen from the road above the canyon east of Boise on Feb. 9, 2022. The last two years have seen drier-than-normal springs. Jake King/Idaho Press Love was in the air on Tuesday, and so was snow, at least in Boise and the Treasure Valley overnight. It’s likely that the state could buck the trend of drier consecutive La Niña winters, something that hasn’t happened since the 1950s in the part of Idaho south of the Salmon River. But that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. “We’re off to a nice snowy day today and we should have gotten some decent precip up in the mountains last night,” said David Hoekema, Idaho Department of Water Resources hydrologist. “We’re likely to…
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23Nov 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Cold temps promising for snowpack, but Idaho’s drought outlook for 2023 unclear

Idaho News
By Erin Banks Rusby; Idaho Press Snowpack at Bogus Basin in Boise, Idaho. The normal high temperature for Boise on Nov. 9 is 52 degrees. But this year on that day, the high was just in the 30s. Even in mid-November, Boise’s normal highs are in the 40s, said Troy Lindquist, a senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service. That said, the Treasure Valley’s recent cold weather in tandem with the snow that fell is good news for Idaho’s water supply, he said. “That’s nearly 20 degrees below normal, for Boise, so it’s definitely going to be chilly,” Lindquist said during a meeting earlier this month about the outlook for Idaho’s water supply over the next year. “The nice thing about this is we’ve got a fast start to our…
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15Mar 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Snowpack, water supply depend on March rains

Idaho News
By Hannah Ashton; Magic Valley Times News Snow falls as the water flows Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at Auger Falls in Twin Falls.Drew Nash, Times News TWIN FALLS — Idaho broke water records in March — not the good kind. Across the state SNOTEL — Snowpack Telemetry sites — hit record low precipitation levels for January to March. Many of the data sets go back 40 years, making officials with the Idaho Water Supply Committee even more nervous. “Since about Jan. 7, we’ve really had a failure of normal precipitation in the state,” said David Hoekema, hydrologist with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, during the March committee meeting. The snow water equivalent (SWE), which stands for how much water is in the snowpack if it melted, has “dramatically decreased,”…
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28Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Drought, low snowpack may foretell Idaho’s future

Idaho News
Idaho Statesman Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, Boise, ID. Much of Southern Idaho, cut through in scythe like fashion by the Snake River Plain, relies on the frozen water stored in the state’s mountains to fill its rivers. When winter ends and summer’s broiling heat arrives, it is these snowy peaks that serve as the state’s reservoir, filling the Salmon, Snake, Big Lost, Boise and other tributaries with cold, clear water. But as the amount of snowfall declines, with scientists citing the effects of climate change as a key contributor, major problems arise for the state’s ecosystems, residents and agriculture industry. And that erosion is already underway. By the turn of the century, Idaho could see reductions of 35%-65% of its snowpack, according to a study published in Nature Reviews…
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22Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

The climate crisis in Idaho: Experts share environmental and health concerns

Idaho News, Research
By Hanalei Potempa; The Arbiter In Idaho, the negative impacts of the changing climate are becoming more apparent. Climate change is not just one problem. The issue represents how the earth’s climate system is acting differently than how it has been operating for a very long time. It is a complete systemic change resulting from problems happening all over the world, and it affects each place in a different way. “What climate change has done is it has thrown a really big wrench into our ability to predict what’s going to happen in the future given how things have looked in the past,” said Dr. Chris Torres, an environmental studies professor at Boise State. In Idaho, changing climate conditions have caused rising concerns for consistent water sources for residential and…
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14Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Water Supply Committee: Record-dry January, drought outlook ‘grim’

Idaho News
By Meredith Spelbring; East Idaho News TWIN FALLS (KIVI) – After a near “perfect” start to the season, officials with the Idaho Water Supply Committee said a record-dry January and dry forecasts are not ideal for the widespread drought across Idaho. Nearly 50% of Idaho is in drought conditions, with the remaining half of the state approaching drought conditions, according to David Hoekema with the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The fall of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 were “perfect” conditions from a water supply standpoint, but one of the driest 30-day streaks in January is causing concern. “We are getting to a point we are probably going to start recommending an expansion of drought in Idaho if we don’t see the needed precipitation coming in,” said Hoekema. As…
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24Sep 2021 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Water Resource Board Expands Cloud Seeding

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson, Capital Press The Idaho Water Resource Board at its Sept. 16-17 meeting voted to continue cloud-seeding programs — and to start a new effort this winter in the state’s southeast corner. House Bill 266, which he Legislature passed this year, says the board is responsible for authorizing cloud seeding and may participate in it and hire contractors. HB 266 directs the board to identify additional basins that cloud seeding would benefit, and to work with stakeholders. It limits liability for participating in certain projects and says no state or local permits are required. Cloud seeding has been used in parts of Idaho for years. Upper Snake, Big Wood, Boise and Payette river basins have aircraft- or ground-based iequipment to seed winter storms. The board is continuing its…
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