413
FXUS65 KPIH 132353
AFDPIH
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
553 PM MDT FRI MAR 13 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- STRONG TO DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND BLOWING DUST ARE EXPECTED
FOR EAST IDAHO SATURDAY.
- A COMBINATION OF WIND ADVISORY, HIGH WIND WARNING, AND BLOWING
DUST WARNING HEADLINES ARE IN PLACE FOR SATURDAY.
- A MAJOR WARMING TREND FOLLOWS THIS SYSTEM, WITH POTENTIAL
RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S AND LOWER 80S EXPECTED
NEXT WEEK.
DISCUSSION
ISSUED AT 150 PM MDT FRI MAR 13 2026
WINDY PATTERN CONTINUES WITH WIND ADVISORY IN PLACE TODAY FOR
MOST OF THE UPPER PORTIONS OF THE SNAKE PLAIN. GUSTS ALREADY
EXCEEDING 40 MPH, WITH LOCALIZED POCKETS OF BLOWING DUST
REPORTED BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. PROBABILISTIC MAX GUSTS ARE
GENERALLY IN THE 45 TO 50 MPH RANGE FOR THE REST OF TODAY IN THE
ADVISORY AREA. WINDS DROP OFF THIS EVENING BUT REMAIN BREEZY
THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT LEADING INTO SATURDAY. FOR SATURDAY, THE
WINDS DRASTICALLY RAMP UP ONCE AGAIN. THIS TIME, EXPECTATIONS
ARE FOR WINDS TO EXCEED THURSDAY'S EVENT ACROSS A MORE
WIDESPREAD AREA. NEARLY ALL OF EAST IDAHO WILL BE HEADLINED FOR
WIND SATURDAY, WITH ALMOST ALL AREAS SUPPORTING A GREATER THAN
30% CHANCE OF MAX WIND GUSTS EXCEEDING 50 MPH. THE SNAKE RIVER
PLAIN AND AREAS SURROUNDING IT SUPPORT A BETTER THAN 60% CHANCE
OF MAX WIND GUSTS EXCEEDING 60 MPH. FOR THESE AREAS, A HIGH WIND
WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED. PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS,
ISLAND PARK, AND THE CACHE VALLEY/BEAR LAKE ZONES SHOULD SEE THE
LESSER GUSTS, THUS A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED.
ADDITIONALLY, GIVEN THE BLOWING DUST ISSUES SEEN ON THURSDAY, WE
HAVE ADDED A BLOWING DUST WARNING FOR THE UPPER SNAKE RIVER
PLAIN, TO ACCOUNT FOR ANTICIPATED TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS NEAR AND
NORTH OF IDAHO FALLS. PEAK WINDS SHOULD FALL DURING THE
AFTERNOON HOURS, BUT SHOULDER TIMES WOULD INCLUDE MID-MORNING
AND EARLY-EVENING FOR GUSTS TO START TO BE IMPACTFUL.
THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT WILL BE SHOWERS AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT
ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCING THESE WINDS. THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY
OF SHOWERS AND CLOUD COVER PUTTING A DAMPER ON THE WINDS.
PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WILL BE VERY LIGHT ACROSS THE SNAKE PLAIN,
IF THEY CAN DEVELOP, SO NOT ENOUGH RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO
MOISTEN THE GROUND TO PREVENT BLOWING DUST FROM BEING AN ISSUE.
HIGHER PRECIPITATION TOTALS WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR THE HIGHLANDS
EAST OF INTERSTATE 15 AND WESTERN EDGES OF THE CENTRAL
MOUNTAINS.
WINDS EASE DURING THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE
REGION AS NORTHWEST FLOW DEVELOPS, BRINGING AN END TO THE WIND
MACHINE FOR EAST IDAHO FOR THE TIME BEING. THIS USHERS IN THE
BEGINNING OF AN INCREASINGLY WARM AND DRY PERIOD FOR EAST IDAHO.
TEMPERATURES INCREASE THROUGH THE WEEK, TRENDING TOWARD RECORD
HIGHS IN THE 70S TO LOWER 80S TUESDAY THROUGH THE REST OF THE
WEEK.
AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SUNDAY/
ISSUED AT 543 PM MDT FRI MAR 13 2026
STRONG WIND CONTINUES TO BE THE BIGGEST IMPACT. THE CURRENT
WIND FROM THIS AFTERNOON HAS BACKED OFF SOME AND WILL CONTINUE
TO DROP OFF THIS EVENING. HOWEVER, EXPECT EVEN STRONGER WINDS
TOMORROW, ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON, BEHIND A COLD FRONT. AS
THE COLD FRONT BLOWS THROUGH ON SATURDAY, WE ARE EXPECTING SOME
LIGHT PRECIPITATION AT MOST OF OUR SITES. TEMPERATURES LOOK
WARM ENOUGH TO BE ALL RAIN ON SATURDAY, BUT CAN'T RULE OUT SOME
-RASN AT DIJ AND SUN WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL BE JUST ABOVE 32
DEGREES. LOWER CLOUDS WILL MOVE THROUGH WITH THE FRONT AND
PRECIPITATION, BUT THE NBM ONLY SHOWS A 20 TO 30 PERCENT CHANCE
OF MVFR CIGS, SO WILL MOSTLY GO WITH SCT CLOUDS AT/NEAR MVFR.
HAVE BRIEFLY ADDED MVFR CONDITIONS FOR DIJ. THE OTHER BIT OF A
WILD CARD WILL BE BLOWING DUST ON SATURDAY. THERE IS A 60 TO 90
PERCENT CHANCE OF GUSTS GREATER THAN 48 KTS AT BYI, PIH, AND
IDA ON SATURDAY SO WE EXPECT TO SEE SOME BLOWING DUST AROUND
IDA AND PIH ONCE AGAIN. ADDED 2SM VIS FOR IDA AND 6SM VIS FOR
PIH FOR BLOWING DUST. HOWEVER, IMPACTS OF BLDU WERE MINIMAL ON
THURSDAY. THERE IS A 30 TO 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF GUSTS GREATER
THAN 48 KTS AT DIJ AND SUN ON SATURDAY.
PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 9 AM TO 9 PM MDT SATURDAY FOR
IDZ051>058-062>065-068.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR IDZ052>054-065.
BLOWING DUST WARNING FROM NOON TO 9 PM MDT SATURDAY FOR IDZ053.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 AM TO 9 PM MDT SATURDAY FOR IDZ059>061-
066-067-069>075.
DISCUSSION...DMH
AVIATION...TW
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