Boise’s largest winter snow event of the year so far is set to begin on Monday night, as numerous widespread snow storms will move through the Gem State throughout the week.
The National Weather Service in Boise forecasts up to 9 inches of snow falling between Monday night and the end of the weekend, with much of the snow in the latter half of the week likely to accumulate on surfaces like roads.
The Weather Service posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, a graphic detailing how much snow parts of Idaho will get between Monday morning and Saturday at noon.
️A series of storms will bring winter weather to the area this week and result in major travel impacts. Snow will be heavy in the mountains with gusty winds, resulting in blizzard conditions. Snow will also make travel difficult in the lower elevations this week. #IDwx #ORwx pic.twitter.com/43gvCWDDBy
— NWS Boise (@NWSBoise) January 8, 2024
The graphic indicates Boise will receive about 7.3 inches through Saturday around noon, but Weather Service meteorologist Les Colin told the Idaho Statesman that Boise could receive another 1.5 inches later on Saturday evening and into Sunday morning.
Higher elevations will receive much more substantial totals — the Weather Service forecasts 34.4 inches falling at Bogus Basin and 38.2 inches at Brundage Mountain.
Here’s how much snow will fall each day and when you can expect it to stick to surfaces and roadways.
Monday through Wednesday
The first snow will move into the Treasure Valley on Monday evening, with about 1.1 inches falling by the morning commute. Temperatures will drop to 30 degrees overnight, meaning snow will accumulate on cooler surfaces like cars and grass by Tuesday morning.
But a daytime high temperature of 42 degrees means any accumulated snow will melt and precipitation will transition to rain during the daytime hours. Snow will fall again as temperatures drop, starting at around 5 p.m.
Snow will continue to fall throughout Tuesday evening and much of Wednesday despite temperatures increasing to 38 degrees during Tuesday daytime. The second wave of snow will stop late Wednesday night and will produce about 2.1 inches.
The Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory from 11 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday, warning of 1-3 inches of snow and wind gusts up to 45 mph. During the same time frame, the Weather Service also issued a blizzard warning for parts of Owyhee, Elmore and Camas Counties, with snow and high winds causing whiteout conditions.
Falling temperatures and accumulation
Any snow that falls on Wednesday night will likely stick as the high temperature on Thursday is only forecast to be 33 degrees. Any melted snow and precipitation that fell as rain will likely freeze overnight, causing slick conditions for Thursday morning’s commute.
“The morning commute will be slightly below freezing; it looks like a low of 29,” Colin said. “So it looks like for the morning commute, the roads will be snow-covered. And there may be some icy patches.”
Another wave of snow will then hit the Treasure Valley around noon on Thursday. With temperatures remaining below freezing, all 2.9 inches of snow forecast to fall throughout the afternoon and evening will stick.
Final blast over the weekend
The Treasure Valley will enjoy a slight reprieve on Friday, with snow unlikely to fall. But a high temperature of 29 degrees means the snow on the ground won’t melt.
Colin noted that there’s less confidence in the forecast temperature after Thursday, meaning it could get warmer — above freezing and melt some snow — or perhaps even colder than currently forecast.
“The models are showing a very wide range of possibilities or temperatures once you get past Thursday,” Colin said. “It’s an extremely, extremely wide range of temperatures. I’ve never seen that wide, actually.”
If the temperatures stay below freezing, a final blast of snow will hit the area all day on Saturday. About 1.2 inches will fall by noon and another 1.5 inches throughout the afternoon.