A lot of Idahoans can appreciate a good storm, especially if you grew up here or in a desert elsewhere. But why are we getting so many in a row, and are we overreacting when we say this feels abnormal?
The good news is that we aren’t overreacting — the single storm from last Tuesday brought almost two inches of rain to some parts of town, near the most ever recorded, and more lightning strikes than we’ve seen in two decades.
Idaho's no stranger to wind, but flooding incidents over the past two weeks have been pretty abnormal. (@NWSBoise / Twitter)
Part of the reason for that is a low-pressure system currently over California and Nevada moving warm, moist air north to us. A meteorologist told the Idaho Statesman last week that the incoming air has hit the elevation of the Boise foothills and mountains, risen, and transformed into thunderstorms repeatedly. The same thing keeps happening over the Owyhees to the southwest.
The warm, moist air coming in from the south is pretty common; what’s different is that we can typically rely on cooler air from the Pacific making it over the Cascades and dissipating that moisture. But as Oregonians will have you know, they’re baking right now.
It’s a bit of a Goldilocks effect: These and several other factors have repeatedly combined just right to create these storms.
Since the 1860s, Boise has only recorded more than three inches of precipitation in June four times. The last time was in 2020, so if we get more precipitation trickling in, we could see two years from the current decade in the top five wettest Junes on record.
Coupled with apocalyptic images of East Coast cities inundated with wildfire smoke, this series of storms can feel a little unnerving. With changing weather and climate patterns, we will probably see both more storms and more drought in the coming years.
Speaking of drought, as lead producer Frankie Barnhill said on City Cast Boise, we might be in for a nasty wildfire season, so prepare yourself.
