textproduct: Pocatello

KEY MESSAGES

- Light snow today for everywhere but the southwest forecast area.

- A break from precipitation for most on Saturday and Saturday evening. Light precipitation returns late Saturday night and Sunday.

- Freeze Warning if effect for this morning and a Freeze Watch in effect for Friday night and Saturday morning.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 155 AM MDT Fri Apr 24 2026

Some residual showers continue this morning and showers will regenerate in the unstable air this afternoon. Thunderstorms are possible in a small area along the ID-WY border this afternoon. Snow accumulations are very light, staying below 3 inches even in the highest elevations in the eastern highlands for the next 24 hours. Showers should end prior to midnight tonight. Skies clear and this will allow temperatures to plummet. Everywhere in the forecast area tonight will be below freezing; A Freeze Watch has been issued for the 5 zones that make up the Freeze-Frost district. Much more sunshine without the evaporative cooling of precipitation will allow afternoon warming to resume after a chilly afternoon on Fri. The threat of precipitation returns late Sat night and continues Sun morning as another shortwave enters the west side of the main trough over south central Canada and brings clouds and precipitation back to the northern Rockies. This air mass is continental polar in nature and little precipitation is expected, save for areas along the ID-UT border that may be able to pull up some moisture from the south. The cloud cover Sun night ends the string of Freeze Warnings, but the air may be cold enough for a Frost Advisory in the district.

The one element not present in this short term forecast is strong wind. As Freeze Warnings would imply. The air is fairly calm at night, with at best some breezy afternoons, but gusts should stay mainly below 30 mph.

Mon through Thu. Mon still has the nearly stationary upper level low in south central Canada, and it keeps the troughing over the forecast area into Mon and Tue. So slight chance to chance probabilities for precipitation continue through Tue night. By an approximate 75 percent-25 percent split in the clusters, the Canadian low has moved far enough east to not be a factor and a trough over the desert southwest has no influence. Temperatures finally return to normal at this point and wind is even lighter.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 519 AM MDT Fri Apr 24 2026

KIDA and KDIJ still have issues with SHSN in the area, reducing VSBY and CIG to marginal VFR for both at least, with KDIJ possibly going IFR for VSBY. For the three southern airports, the SHSN/SHRA have ended in this region mostly, except KPIH may see SHRA develop in the nearby mountains. KSUN, KPIH, and KBYI all stay VFR.

Wind is down again considerably, with only KBYI ramping up again to 20G30KT. Mostly expected directions, although a low moving through has pushed wind at KSUN to southerly this morning. However, as it passes to the west it should shift to northwest by late morning and stay that way through tonight.

PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Freeze Warning until 10 AM MDT this morning for IDZ051>055. Freeze Watch from this evening through Saturday morning for IDZ051>055.