


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Pocatello, ID
Issued by NWS Pocatello, ID
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102 FXUS65 KPIH 162331 AFDPIH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 531 PM MDT Thu Oct 16 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Rain and snow showers will continue to taper through tonight. - Drier weather is on tap for most of southeast Idaho Friday and Saturday, before our next, faster-moving storm system moves through the region Sunday and Monday. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 128 PM MDT Thu Oct 16 2025 East Idaho remains under the influence of amplified upper trough, now shifting east into the Rockies and Plains per satellite imagery. Wrap around moisture and north/northwesterly flow are helping to keep showers in place across the region this afternoon. Snow accumulations will remain light and generally above 7000 ft elevation. Outside of showers, low clouds, patchy fog, and breezy winds also continue. Showers linger this evening mainly east of I-15, then taper to isolated showers mainly higher elevations along the WY border for the remainder of the night. Low clouds overnight will keep lows around or just above freezing for most lower elevation areas. Pockets of fog are possible, but model soundings generally support stratus over fog. At this time, dense fog is not anticipated overnight. NBM probabilities support a 10-15% chance of visibilities as low as 3 miles overnight and early Friday in very few locations. A weak shortwave crosses the Idaho panhandle into Montana Friday night into early Saturday for some shower potential across the Island Park/Yellowstone region. Otherwise East Idaho will trend toward drier and sunnier weather headed into the weekend. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 128 PM MDT Thu Oct 16 2025 Weak ridging will be over the area to start the day on Saturday which should keep things dry across eastern Idaho along with mostly clear skies and dry weather. Temps will be on the cooler side of normal by a few degrees, generally upper 40s to upper 50s, throughout the region. Southerly flow will increase during the overnight hours into Sunday ahead of an approaching trough that`ll swing north of the area. Models have been trending PoPs and QPF back a bit now with this feature looking to stay more to the north compared to a few days ago. We`ll still increased cloud cover and some high elevation precip chances but not sure now how much precip, if any, will be seen across the Snake Plain and Magic Valley. It will help bring cooler temps back into the area though after a more mild Sunday is expected. Highs on Monday will likely struggle to climb above 50 throughout much, if not all, of eastern Idaho. Upper flow looks to become more zonal on Tuesday in the wake of the aforementioned trough which should keep the forecast mostly dry but temps will be slow to moderate into the middle part of next week with highs mainly in the 50s expected. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 528 PM MDT Thu Oct 16 2025 As an area of low pressure continues moving eastward out of our area this evening, expect improving conditions at our TAF sites. Generally, VFR conditions are expected at KSUN, KBYI, and KPIH by the 02-03Z timeframe. As KSUN switches to its usual north/northwest wind overnight, that should help clear out the low clouds that have been plaguing the site all afternoon. Showers are expected to be out of the KIDA area by around 03Z, but models have not been handling these showers well, so we will have to continue to keep an eye on it. KDIJ will remain at MVFR CIGs for the next several hours, until around 07Z tonight. There will remain about a 10-20 percent chance of MVFR CIGs around KPIH and KIDA due to the remaining moisture in the low to mid levels as evidenced in the SCT025 line in the TAFs. Friday will be a drier day. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 253 AM MDT Thu Oct 16 2025 Rain and snow showers will taper off from west to east today as the responsible low pressure system pulls away from the region. Expect a brief break with mostly dry conditions Friday and Saturday, before our next trough brings another round of precipitation to the region from Sunday afternoon through Monday. Winds may be a bit breezier with this next system. && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...DMH LONG TERM...McKaughan AVIATION...AMM FIRE WEATHER...01