


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Pocatello, ID
Issued by NWS Pocatello, ID
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219 FXUS65 KPIH 141130 AFDPIH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 530 AM MDT Mon Jul 14 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Shortwave trough passage today leading to isolated showers and wet/dry thunderstorms, breezy winds, and near critical to critical fire weather conditions. - Cold front later in the day Tuesday will support another round of isolated to scattered showers and wet/dry thunderstorms along with breezy winds. - Cooler and drier airmass shifts into place on Wednesday. - Warmer and drier conditions favored to finish out the week. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 230 AM MDT Mon Jul 14 2025 Early morning satellite imagery shows a shortwave trough working east along the Montana Divide, as isolated showers and thunderstorms continue up around Clark and Fremont Counties. Behind this departing trough later this morning, a secondary shortwave will build in out of the west this afternoon/evening, supporting another round of breezy winds and isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms. The HREF model probability of thunder today shows two main active corridors of convection this afternoon and evening. The primary being a 40-80% chance in the Central Mountains east across the Upper Snake River Plain, Montana Divide, and Eastern Highlands, with a secondary along 20-40% area along the Idaho-Nevada border region through the Owyhees east into the South Hills/Albion Mountains region. Given a very dry environment in place at the surface, we will see a mix of showers/virga and wet/dry thunderstorms given PWATs in that 0.50-0.80" range. The primary hazards with stronger thunderstorms today will center around wind gusts up to 50 mph, small hail, and brief rain. Synoptic winds will also remain breezy this afternoon as well, with gusts peaking around 25-35 mph outside of any thunderstorms. Given elevated winds and low relative humidity, elevated to critical fire weather conditions will be possible today. More on that in the Fire Weather discussion below. Highs today will remain above normal with highs in the 80s/90s. Behind that departing shortwave trough this evening, attention quickly turns to a compact mid/upper-level low diving southeast out of British Columbia, working southeast across the Idaho Panhandle and Western Montana Tuesday/Tuesday night. This system will drive a cold front across southern Idaho later in the day Tuesday, with isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms expected regionwide. Outside of very isolated activity Tuesday morning, best chances for showers and storms will be during the afternoon/evening hours with a 15-30% chance regionwide, locally higher in that 30-80% range in the Eastern Highlands and along the Montana Divide. Stronger storms will be capable of producing wind gusts up to 55 mph, small hail, and brief moderate to heavy rain. We will again see a mix of virga, showers, and wet/dry thunderstorms along this front given a dry surface environment in place. Winds outside of any convection will remain breezy, with gusts Tuesday afternoon peaking around 25-40 mph. Shower and thunderstorm activity will wind down after sunset as isolated chances persist along the Montana and Wyoming border regions for Tuesday night. Increased cloud cover and moisture may shave a couple of degrees off of high temperatures in some areas, but aside from the northern Central Mountains east along the Montana border, highs will remain similar to Monday in the 80s/90s. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Issued at 230 AM MDT Mon Jul 14 2025 A cooler and drier airmass will move into place on Wednesday behind an exiting upper-level trough and cold front east over the Continental Divide. Highs will be around 5-10 degrees cooler than Tuesday in the 70s/80s with lighter winds expected regionwide as gusts remain less than 30 mph. Weak moisture transport along the Montana Divide behind this exiting system will lead to a 10-20% chance of showers and thunderstorms up in the Eastern Highlands throughout the day as conditions remain predominantly dry elsewhere. This cool-down looks to short-lived however as prevailing W/SW flow will lead to warmer temperatures to finish out the week with highs back in the 80s/90s each day. A series of shortwave troughs propagating through southern Idaho later in the week may help to support some isolated showers and thunderstorms primarily in the mountains, but conditions are expected to remain dry overall heading into early next week. These troughs may tap into the northern extent of a monsoonal moisture plume to our south, however the latest ensemble model guidance still keeps any activity isolated in nature. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 530 AM MDT Mon Jul 14 2025 Predominant VFR and dry conditions will continue for Monday as a shortwave trough passes overhead this afternoon and evening, supporting breezy winds and isolated showers and thunderstorms. Have included a PROB30 group for -TSRA and wind gusts up to 35 kts for KIDA and KDIJ where best chances for gusty thunderstorm outflow winds are expected. Wind gusts today will peak around 15-25 kts this afternoon outside of any convection. Behind this exiting trough tonight, dry conditions and lighter winds will return overnight as very isolated showers remain possible. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 230 AM MDT Mon Jul 14 2025 Hot and mostly dry conditions will continue today as a shortwave trough works east across southern Idaho, leading to breezy winds and isolated virga/showers and wet/dry thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Best shower and thunderstorm chances will exist in the Central Mountains east across the Upper Snake River Plain into the Eastern Highlands, with stronger thunderstorms capable of producing wind gusts up to 50 mph, small hail, and brief rain. Synoptic winds will also remain elevated this afternoon as well, with gusts peaking around 25-35 mph outside of any thunderstorms. Due to a combination of low relative humidity and gusty winds, a Fire Weather Watch remains in effect from 1400 to 2100 MDT today for FWZ 425 and 427 where critical fire weather conditions are expected. Near critical to critical fire weather conditions will remain possible in FWZ 410 and 413, but have held off on any headlines at this time. The FWW will need to be upgraded later today with a potential expansion further east to FWZ 410 and 413 dependent on partner coordination. MinRHs this afternoon will drop to the teens/20s regionwide. Behind this exiting shortwave tonight, attention turns to a more organized system working southeast of British Columbia along the Continental Divide for Tuesday into Tuesday night as a cold front tracks over southern Idaho later in the day Tuesday. This system will lead to a mix of isolated to scattered virga/showers and wet/dry thunderstorms regionwide, along with keeping winds elevated with synoptic gusts peaking around 25-40 mph. MinRHs in the afternoon hours will again be in the teens/20s, leading to elevated to near critical fire weather conditions. Stronger storms on Tuesday will be capable of producing wind gusts up to 55 mph, small hail, and brief moderate to heavy rain. Coverage of showers and storms will peak in the afternoon and evening hours, as drier conditions build in out of the west for Tuesday night. A cooler and drier airmass will shift into place on Wednesday as winds lessen, highs cool about 5-10 degrees, and isolated showers and storms shift to being confined to Eastern Highlands and Upper Snake River Plain. This cool-down looks to short-lived however as prevailing W/SW flow will lead to warmer temperatures to finish out the week with highs back in the 80s/90s and MinRHs in the teens/20s each day. A series of shortwave troughs propagating through southern Idaho later in the week may help to support some isolated showers and thunderstorms primarily in the mountains, but conditions are expected to remain dry overall heading into early next week. These troughs may tap into the northern extent of a monsoonal moisture plume to our south, however the latest ensemble model guidance still keeps any activity isolated in nature. && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from 2 PM MDT this afternoon through this evening for IDZ425-427. && $$ SHORT TERM...MacKay LONG TERM...MacKay AVIATION...MacKay FIRE WEATHER...MacKay