024
FXUS65 KPIH 150446
AFDPIH
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE POCATELLO ID
1046 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 /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY/
ISSUED AT 1037 PM MDT SAT MAR 14 2026
WINDS HAVE BACKED OFF, FOR THE MOST PART. IDA, PIH AND DIJ HAVE
WINDS FROM THE NORTH CURRENTLY. IDA HAS WIND GUSTS OF AROUND 40
KNOTS CURRENTLY, WITH SLIGHTLY REDUCED VISIBILITY FROM BLOWING
DUST. WINDS FOR IDA AND OTHER TAF SITES WILL LIKELY BACK OFF BY
AROUND 9Z. 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 GUSTS OF AROUND 20 KNOTS FOR IDA, PIH AND BYI IN THE
AFTERNOON TOMORROW. WINDS WILL BACK OFF SOME IN THE EARLY
EVENING. HAVE PUT IN VCSH FOR ALL TAF SITES CURRENTLY FOR THE
EARLY EVENING AND HAVE LOWERED CIGS FOR THE LATE AFTERNOON INTO
THE EARLY EVENING TOMORROW. ALL TAF SITES LOOK TO REMAIN VFR.
PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
NONE.
DISCUSSION...DMH
AVIATION...TW
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