textproduct: Pocatello

KEY MESSAGES

- System today will bring light snow accumulations to parts of eastern Idaho.

- Warming trend will continue through the weekend, with little significant precipitation in sight Thursday onward.

- Rebuilding ridge of high pressure could provide renewed bouts of low clouds and fog at times this coming week. Confidence in this is low though.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 115 PM MST Wed Jan 28 2026

A weak upper level trough continues to quickly move through the region this afternoon bringing some very light snow to some spots. Radar returns are generally light and impacts appear to be quite limited with the precip but it at least serves as a reminder that it is in fact winter as things have been unusually quiet throughout the area. Afternoon satellite imagery shows widespread cloud cover in place for much of the region although we're already starting to see a bit of clearing in the southwestern part of the state. Precip continues to push from west to east and most is already along and east of the I-15 corridor and will continue into the eastern highlands as we move into the evening hours. Accumulations across the higher terrain of the eastern highlands could amount to an inch or two but most locations will see less than an inch as there's not much moisture with this system. Models show fog and stratus potential, especially in the lower valleys, so we'll see how this pans out as we move into the day on Thursday. Upper level ridge will be building back over the region during the day but NW flow aloft could spark some high elevation snow showers in the central mountains and eastern highlands but will be of relatively low impact. Temps tomorrow are forecast to be around seasonal norms although stratus could make the temp forecast problematic.

LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 115 PM MST Wed Jan 28 2026

A weak upper level trough continues to quickly move through the region this afternoon bringing some very light snow to some spots. Radar returns are generally light and impacts appear to be quite limited with the precip but it at least serves as a reminder that it is in fact winter as things have been unusually quiet throughout the area. Afternoon satellite imagery shows widespread cloud cover in place for much of the region although we're already starting to see a bit of clearing in the southwestern part of the state. Precip continues to push from west to east and most is already along and east of the I-15 corridor and will continue into the eastern highlands as we move into the evening hours. Accumulations across the higher terrain of the eastern highlands could amount to an inch or two but most locations will see less than an inch as there's not much moisture with this system. Models show fog and stratus potential, especially in the lower valleys, so we'll see how this pans out as we move into the day on Thursday. Upper level ridge will be building back over the region during the day but NW flow aloft could spark some high elevation snow showers in the central mountains and eastern highlands but will be of relatively low impact. Temps tomorrow are forecast to be around seasonal norms although stratus could make the temp forecast problematic.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 1025 AM MST Wed Jan 28 2026

A cold front passing through Eastern Idaho is also bringing snow showers with it today. We've seen brief drops down to IFR conditions due to low VIS and CIGs as the snow falls, so expect that to continue at our TAF sites as snowfall moves eastward, too. Wind gusts have been around 20kts. The overall window for snow is relatively short and by 01-02Z it should be out of most of our sites, but could linger until closer to 10Z at DIJ. Models show low stratus/fog developing along the Snake River tonight, mainly impacting IDA and PIH. While the NBM is more hesitant to bring the low stratus/fog into BYI, the HREF shows about a 50 percent chance of VIS at BYI dropping to 2SM beginning around 14Z Thursday morning, so went with 3SM BR to split the difference a bit there. That will be the next thing to fine tune after the snow moves through today.

PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.