879
FXUS65 KBOI 242000
AFDBOI
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOISE ID
200 PM MDT TUE MAR 24 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- NEAR RECORD TEMPERATURES CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY, WITH
VALLEY HIGHS IN THE MID 70S.
- GUSTY WINDS AND VERY DRY CONDITIONS WILL BRING ELEVATED FIRE
DANGER ALONG WITH BLOWING DUST ACROSS SOUTHEAST OREGON AND
NEAR THE IDAHO-NEVADA BORDER THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
- MOUNTAIN SHOWERS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. GUSTY WINDS WITH A COLD
FRONT PASSAGE WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOLLOWED BY BREEZY AND COOLER
CONDITIONS ON THURSDAY.
SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/
AN UNUSUALLY STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE FOR LATE MARCH REMAINS
THE DOMINANT FEATURE ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST INTO
WEDNESDAY. THIS RIDGE IS DRAWING A VERY WARM AIR MASS NORTHWARD,
WHICH WILL RESULT IN TEMPERATURES 15 TO 20 DEGREES ABOVE
SEASONAL NORMALS. THE PRIMARY CONCERN THROUGH WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON WILL BE THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS AND
SINGLE DIGIT TO LOW DOUBLE DIGIT RELATIVE HUMIDITY. WINDS OF 25
TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE OPEN RANGELANDS OF SOUTHEAST
OREGON AND SOUTHWEST IDAHO, PARTICULARLY SOUTH OF THE SNAKE
RIVER. GIVEN THE RECENT DRY SPELL, THESE CONDITIONS WILL LEAD TO
HEIGHTENED FIRE DANGER ALONG THE NEVADA BORDER. BRIEF PERIODS
OF BLOWING DUST IS ALSO A CONCERN ACROSS THE HARNEY AND MALHEUR
COUNTIES RESTRICTING VISIBILITIES.
A COLD FRONT WILL BEGIN TO PUSH INTO SOUTHEAST OREGON ON
WEDNESDAY, BRINGING A 5 TO 10 DEGREE DROP IN TEMPERATURES
COMPARED TO TODAY. HOWEVER, SOUTHWEST IDAHO WILL MAINTAIN NEAR-
RECORD WARMTH FOR ONE MORE DAY BEFORE THE FRONT ARRIVES.
PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE MOST PREVALENT
ACROSS NORTHERN MOUNTAINS, WHERE A 30 TO 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS IS FORECAST. PRECIPITATION TOTALS WILL BE LIGHT,
GENERALLY UNDER A TENTH OF AN INCH. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN
HIGH, STAYING ABOVE 8000 FEET MSL THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THIS PASSAGE WILL BE LARGELY DRY FOR THE
VALLEYS, BUT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS UP TO
45 MPH THROUGH THURSDAY, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE INTERSTATE 84
CORRIDOR FROM MOUNTAIN HOME THROUGH THE WESTERN MAGIC VALLEY.
THIS COULD BRING BLOWING DUST FOR LOWER VISIBILITIES AT TIMES.
MUCH COOLER AIR FOLLOWS FOR THURSDAY, WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES
FALLING 10 TO 25 DEGREES FROM WEDNESDAY LEVELS. SNOW LEVELS WILL
ALSO DROP SIGNIFICANTLY TO AROUND 4000 TO 5000 FEET MSL BY
THURSDAY MORNING.
LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
A DRY, UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE INTERMOUNTAIN
WEST FRIDAY, PLACING THE RIDGE AXIS TO THE EAST OF THE FORECAST
AREA. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE WARMED BY 10-15 DEGREES COMPARED
TO THURSDAY. AS THE RIDGE AXIS CONTINUES EAST, A LARGE,
ELONGATED TROUGH WILL APPROACH THE WEST COAST OVER THE WEEKEND.
AS A RESULT, WARM SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL STRENGTHEN ACROSS THE
WEST AND BOOST TEMPERATURES FURTHER, APPROXIMATELY 15-20 DEGREES
ABOVE NORMAL BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. MODELS BRING THE UPPER
TROUGH ONSHORE BY MONDAY, INTRODUCING A COLD FRONT AND
PRECIPITATION CHANCES (15-35%) FOR E OREGON AND SW IDAHO MONDAY
AND TUESDAY. SURFACE WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY AHEAD AND BEHIND
THE COLD FRONT, WITH A NOTABLE DROP IN TEMPERATURES BY TUESDAY.
AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
UPDATED 200 PM MDT TUE MAR 24 2026
MOSTLY VFR. A SWATH OF BLOWING DUST SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING
VISIBILITY IN EAST-CENTRAL OREGON THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED RAIN
SHOWERS AFTER TUE/22Z AROUND KBKE/KMYL, WITH AREAS OF MOUNTAIN
OBSCURATION, CONTINUING THROUGH WED. SURFACE WINDS: SW-SE 10-20 KT,
WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 KT IN EASTERN OR. WINDS ALOFT AT 10 KFT: W-SW 20-
40 KT.
KBOI...VFR. SURFACE WINDS SE 5-10 KT, OCCASIONALLY LIGHT AND
VARIABLE.
BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
ID...NONE.
OR...NONE.
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BOISE
INTERACT WITH US VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSBOISE
WWW.X.COM/NWSBOISE
SHORT TERM...JDS
LONG TERM....SH
AVIATION.....SH
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