Take a look at the Weather Service’s website this morning and south Idaho is a sea of green with Flood Advisories and Warnings. The snow is melting and rain is falling and those two together are causing record flooding that has closed Interstate 86 (archive) between Burley and Pocatello.
The Interstate has since reopened, but other highways are closed both in the Snake River Plain as well as in the mountains, where this warmer rainy weather is causing an avalanche threat (out of date url).
I’m not going to post the current alerts here, because they can change frequently, but you can get them by going to the pages for either the National Weather Service in Boise or Pocatello, depending on where you are.
Within the next two days, much of the Snake River Plain is looking at over a quarter inch of rain which will compound the melting issue.
The Raft River, which is the river flooding I-86, has risen to over four feet above the previous record height.
Following this February warm snap we will cool down for a few days but at the beginning of next week, the Rexburg area is looking to come back to highs in the mid- to upper-30s.
Remember! When you come across flooded roads, turn around – don’t drown. There are a lot of low water crossings up in the mountains, and it can seem like a good idea to not drive an extra two hours and just plow through it, but do everyone a favor and just don’t.
