125
FXUS65 KPIH 142359
AFDPIH
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
559 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 /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z MONDAY/
ISSUED AT 551 PM MDT SAT MAR 14 2026
MAIN IMPACT CONTINUES TO BE WINDS WITH VERY HIGH SPEEDS AND
GUSTS EXPECTED TO BE SUSTAINED 25 TO 30 KNOTS AT PIH, IDA, BYI
AND DIJ WITH GUSTS 35 TO 45 KNOTS THROUGH ABOUT 03Z. PIH COULD
STILL SEE GUSTS UP TO 55 KNOTS. SUN WILL HAVE AROUND 10 KNOTS
SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS NEAR 20 KNOTS. SO, OVERALL HIGH WIND
IMPACTS FOR FLYING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. WILL SEE WINDS DROP
OFF SIGNIFICANTLY BY 3Z AND DIE DOWN AFTER 06Z AND WILL NOT BE
AS STRONG SUNDAY. HOWEVER, GUSTS OF 20 TO 25 KNOTS EXPECTED AT
THE BYI, PIH, AND IDA SITES AFTER 18Z. EXPECT SOME VISIBILITY
RESTRICTIONS FROM BLOWING DUST FOR PIH AS LOW AS 1 TO 2 SM THIS
EARLY EVENING BEFORE WINDS DROP OFF. CLOUDS WILL MOSTLY CLEAR
OUT FOR MOST TAF SITES THIS EVENING INTO TOMORROW MORNING WITH
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN FROM THE WEST. MODELS DO SHOW A WEAK
WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE HIGH PRESSURE LATE TOMORROW AFTERNOON
INTO TOMORROW EVENING. EXPECT LOWER CIGS TOMORROW AFTERNOON INTO
TOMORROW EVENING BUT STILL WILL REMAIN VFR.
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...TW
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