Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Boise, ID
Issued by NWS Boise, ID
757 FXUS65 KBOI 071711 AFDBOI Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boise ID 1011 AM MST Sun Dec 7 2025 .DISCUSSION...A weak warm front will bring light precipitation to the area today. Temperatures will be slightly cooler today due to the precipitation but still remain mild. Light snow accumulations expected over the mountains today, with generally 2-4 inches above 6000 feet through Monday Morning. Warm and moist zonal flow continues over the next several days as a significant atmospheric river impacts the Pacific NW across WA, northern ID and western MT. The central ID mountains will see significant precipitation, but far less amounts compared to northern ID. Current forecast reflects this well with no updates planned. && .AVIATION...Generally VFR in mid-level overcast ceilings. Light rain/snow especially in higher terrain north of a KBNO-KMUO line. Precipitation south of the line is possible this evening. MVFR-IFR in the precip and low clouds, locally LIFR in mountain obscuration and snow showers. Spots of freezing rain in valleys/basins below freezing. Patchy valley fog possible Monday morning. Snow levels rising to 5k-7k feet this afternoon. Surface winds: SE-SW 5-15 kt. Winds aloft at 10kft MSL: W 20-40 kt. KBOI...Generally VFR with mid-level ceilings. Sporadic light rain and MVFR conditions through Mon/05Z. Foothills obscured. Surface winds: SE 7-12 kt && .PREV DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...Today through Tuesday night...For today, light precipitation will develop along a warm front as it lifts through the region. Models have trended drier with the initial band of precipitation this morning. Mountains will see light snow develop by early afternoon. At lower elevations areas closer to the foothills will see the best chance (30-50%) through the day. A weak upper trough passage tonight will give lower elevations the best chance for light rain while mtns see additional rain and snow. Snow levels start around 4kft this morning, rising to 5500-6500 feet this afternoon. This will give mtn valleys a chance for light accumulations through early afternoon (generally up to an inch). Above 6kft a general 3-6" inches is expected through Monday morning. For Monday through Tuesday night...We`re still looking at a lot of rain and high mountain snow across Baker County and the w-central Idaho mountains and Boise Mountains as these areas stay locked under a deep moisture plume. The bones of the forecast remain unchanged with precipitable water values rising to the 99th percentile and mid- level winds of 30-60 mph from late Monday through Tuesday night. The resulting steady light to moderate precipitation will result in liquid amounts of 1-2" and locally up to 2.5" through Tuesday night (with more to come beyond that). Made minor adjustments to snow levels (NBM has been running slightly high), but still looking at 7-8kft for much of the period. A passing wave could briefly bring them down to 6-6.5kft across the w-central Idaho mtns Tuesday, but they quickly rebound Tuesday night. This will limit accumulation to sites above 7kft, which will get pasted with 9-18" of wet snow. Higher peaks will also see gusty winds to 45 mph along with the rain/snow. Daytime mixing brings some of that wind to open higher terrain on Tuesday where gusts of 25 to 40 mph are forecast across SE Oregon and south of the Snake Plain. Being mainly an orographic event, rain chances/amounts fall off quickly across southeast Oregon and in the Snake Plain. Expect little if any rainfall along the northern NV border and even the Steens are going to miss out on much of the precipitation during this period. Temperatures are well above normal and most sites will see highs above freezing by Tuesday. LONG TERM...Wednesday through Sunday...Mid to late this coming week continues to look wet and active. This is thanks to high pressure situated off of the west coast streaming Pacific moisture over our area. Mid-level flow at 500mb will be at a notable 50-70 kt come Wednesday, this will provide a strong moisture flux with PWs around the 97-99th percentile. Higher elevations will see most of the fun, with wind speeds up to 40-55 kt down to 700mb (roughly 10,000ft MSL) orographic lift will enhance precipitation in terrain. With that in mind, the greatest precip chances and totals will generally be in the terrain north of the Snake Plain, where the moisture flux is greatest and lift is enhanced. Precipitation chances north and east of the Snake plain will remain elevated with an 80-100% chance of precipitation through Thursday morning. Precipitation chance for that same period in and south of the Snake Plain generally will be within the 30-70% range. I hate to be the bearer of bad news for those who like snow recreation...But the warm air advection in the strong flow aloft will send snow levels skyward; ranging from 7-9 kft MSL on Wednesday, lowering slightly to 6.5-8 kft MSL come Thursday. A consequence of the high snow levels is that aside from the highest peaks, most of the area will see rain as the dominate precipitation type. Over the course of Wednesday morning through Friday morning, the highest peaks could see up to a foot of additional snowfall... but little to no accumulation is expected below 8 kft MSL. Conversely, over that same time frame, Liquid precipitation totals north and east of the Snake Plain are forecasted to be 0.75-1.75 inches. Generally 0.1-0.5 inches are expected in and south of the Snake Plain, southeast Oregon will have a lower range of up to a tenth. The strong flow aloft will stick around over our area through Friday morning, and will translate down to gusty winds at the surface. This will bring gusts of 25-50 mph across the area, with the higher end of that range seen on ridge tops and and typical trouble spots of the Snake Plain. Precipitation chances and winds die down Thursday afternoon into Friday as ridging begins to build overhead. This will push the mid- level jet and moisture stream north of our area and bring in higher pressure. This ridging will make valley inversions possible, subsequently putting fog and low stratus in play to end the week. With the warmer airmass, temperatures will be 15-20 degrees above normal throughout the long-term period. Although the possibility of inverted conditions introduces uncertainty into the late week temperatures as colder air could get trapped near the surface. && .BOI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. OR...None. && $$ www.weather.gov/Boise Interact with us via social media: www.facebook.com/NWSBoise www.x.com/NWSBoise DISCUSSION...KA AVIATION.....JM SHORT TERM...DG LONG TERM....NF