575
FXUS65 KPIH 141919
AFDPIH
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
119 PM MDT SAT MAR 14 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- STRONG TO DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND BLOWING DUST ARE EXPECTED
FOR EAST IDAHO TODAY.
- A COMBINATION OF WIND ADVISORY, HIGH WIND WARNING, AND BLOWING
DUST WARNING HEADLINES ARE IN PLACE FOR TODAY.
- A MAJOR WARMING TREND FOLLOWS THIS SYSTEM, WITH POTENTIAL
RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S AND LOWER 80S EXPECTED
NEXT WEEK.
DISCUSSION
ISSUED AT 119 PM MDT SAT MAR 14 2026
TODAY'S WIND EVENT IS STILL RAMPING UP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WITH
STRONG WINDS BECOMING MORE WIDESPREAD AND THE NUMBER OF SITES
WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH INCREASING. SO FAR HAVE SEEN SEVERAL
SITES GUSTING OVER 60 MPH, WITH INTERSTATE CLOSURES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF IDAHO FALLS DUE TO BLOWING DUST. SATELLITE IMAGERY
SHOWS SHOWERS CONTINUING MAINLY OVER THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS, BUT
SECOND BAND OF SHOWERS ARE MOVING TOWARD THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS
EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. CLEARING LINE SHIFTING NORTHWEST TO
SOUTHEAST INTO THE SNAKE PLAIN IS EXPECTED TO ALLOW MIXING TO
TAKE OFF THIS AFTERNOON ALLOWING THE STRONGEST WINDS TO DEVELOP.
ALL WIND-RELATED HEADLINES WILL REMAIN INTACT THIS AFTERNOON,
INCLUDING THE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE STRONGEST WINDS THROUGH
THE SNAKE PLAIN AND ADJACENT ZONES AND THE WIND ADVISORY FOR ALL
OTHER ZONES, AND ESPECIALLY THE BLOWING DUST WARNING FOR THE
UPPER SNAKE ZONE COVERING THE MAIN TROUBLE SPOT FOR
INTERSTATE-15. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE INCREASING WINDS FOR
POTENTIAL TO INCREASE THE BLOWING DUST WARNING AREA, IF
NECESSARY, AS WE HAVE RECEIVED REPORTS OF MINOR BLOWING DUST
OUTSIDE OF THE CURRENT WARNED AREA. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO ABATE
BELOW HEADLINE THRESHOLDS THIS EVENING AFTER FRONTAL BOUNDARY
SAGS THROUGH THE REGION, THEN RAPIDLY DROP OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT
TONIGHT. COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE IN PLACE FOR SUNDAY, BUT RIDGE
OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST INTO MONDAY,
GRADUALLY SHIFTING EAST INTO THE DESERT SOUTHWEST STATES FOR THE
LATTER PORTIONS OF THE WEEK. INCREASINGLY WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
BE THE STORY MOVING FORWARD PAST THE WIND EVENTS. DETERMINISTIC
NBM TEMPERATURES RISE WELL INTO THE 70S FOR MOST OF THE SNAKE
PLAIN AND SURROUNDING LOWER ELEVATION AREAS BY MID WEEK.
PROBABILISTIC DATA STILL SUPPORTIVE OF TEMPERATURES POTENTIALLY
REACHING 80 BY THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK, ESPECIALLY FOR THE
SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THE SNAKE PLAIN BETWEEN ROUGHLY POCATELLO AND
THE MAGIC VALLEY. DETERMINISTIC VALUES ARE RUNNING SEVERAL
DEGREES BELOW THE ENSEMBLE SPREADS FOR TUESDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY.
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SUNDAY/
ISSUED AT 1121 AM MDT SAT MAR 14 2026
MAIN IMPACT WILL AGAIN BE WINDS WITH EXTREME SPEEDS AND GUSTS
EXPECTED TO BE SUSTAINED 35 TO 40 KNOTS AT PIH, IDA, BYI AND
DIJ WITH GUSTS 45 TO 55 KNOTS THROUGH ABOUT 03Z. SUN WILL HAVE
15 TO 25 KNOTS SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS 30 TO 35 KNOTS. SO EXTREME
WIND IMPACTS FOR FLYING TODAY. WILL SEE WINDS DIE DOWN AFTER 06Z
AND WILL NOT BE AS STRONG SUNDAY BUT GUSTS OF 20 TO 30 KNOTS
EXPECTED AT THE BYI, PIH AND IDA SITES AFTER 18Z. EXPECT SOME
VISIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AT TIMES UNDER 6 MILES AT IDA FOR
BLOWING DUST THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL.
PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR IDZ051>058-
062>065-068.
BLOWING DUST WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR IDZ053.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR IDZ059>061-066-
067-069>075.
DISCUSSION...DMH
AVIATION...GK
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