BOISE, Idaho — The National Weather Service (NWS) has many tools to keep everyone in Idaho informed about the forecast, but one device goes above all the others— literally.

Reaching heights of 100,000 feet above sea level, twice a day, every day, NWS sends weather balloons sky high to help track a number of statistics.

“They track the temperature, the humidity, and they are able to use their GPS circuitry to track wind direction and speed,” said Wasyl Hewko, a hydrometeorological technician who oversees balloon launches. “We want to get data not necessarily horizontally like we do for weather observation, but we want to get the vertical profile of the atmosphere.”

During the winter months, Hewko’s scheduled launches happen daily at 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. MT.

Check out the hydrogen-hauled weather tracker:

This National Weather Service tracker climbs 100,000+ feet

This isn’t a solo effort either. At the same time, across the world, hundreds of balloons are launched from 900 different sites— live tracking and building a visual guide of what the world’s atmosphere and weather patterns look like in real time.

Hewko says the ultimate goal is to build “a three-dimensional profile of the atmosphere [with] all this information worldwide.”

“This is the one time where the world is holding hands, I guess, as far as that goes, you know— everyone is in it to get this information, so we can have accurate forecast models,” added Hewko.

What’s especially fascinating is that as the weather balloon gains altitude, the density of the atmosphere decreases, which allows the balloon to grow to “an incredible size,” explained Hewko.

Ultimately, the balloon pops, but before it does, it can grow to be approximately the size of a two car garage.

If you want to see the balloons take flight, you can go to Sondehub.org to find out exactly where the launches take place on any given day.

The results are in for the Idaho Lottery’s draw games on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on Feb. 12.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 12 drawing

Day: 2-9-7

Night: 8-7-3

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 12 drawing

Day: 1-5-7-6

Night: 8-1-6-6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Feb. 12 drawing

10-12-24-32-35, Lucky Ball: 12

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Idaho Cash numbers from Feb. 12 drawing

11-31-38-43-44

Check Idaho Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Idaho Lottery drawings held ?

• Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
• Pick 3: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
• Pick 4: 1:59 p.m. (Day) and 7:59 p.m. (Night) MT daily.
• Lucky For Life: 8:35 p.m. MT Monday and Thursday.
• Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• 5 Star Draw: 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
• Idaho Cash: 8 p.m. MT daily.

STANLEY, Idaho — The 17th Stanley Winterfest kicks off this Friday with live music and then a whole day of activities on Saturday, including the infamous outhouse races.

Locals originally started this festival to bring the community together, but it has grown into a huge event for Stanley economically. The event also raises funds for local non-profits like the volunteer fire department, the school, and other services.

Check out the video to see more of what Winterfest is all about

Stanley Winterfest will bring a unique vibe to the mountains this weekend

“It is a really unique [event], and it is one of a kind,” said Russell Clark, who helps organize Winterfest. He also operates the Mountain Village. “This event is the largest event for the winter season; the businesses really rely on this weekend for revenue.”

The marquee event is the outhouse races, and they are a sight to see. Every year, people custom make an outhouse on skis, and they hold races in downtown Stanley that are chock full of carnage and entertainment.

“When we first started the outhouse races, they were pretty simple, including just a standard outhouse that was attached to some skis,” said Clark. “Now people really up the ante, and they have really gotten creative in the past four years.”

Other activities on Saturday include the brand new human ice tug and favorites like the adult big wheel race, winter rafting on snow, and a pizza eating contest.

People should also know the motto of the festival is “let’s get weird,” and one of the events includes a drag queen race.

“Our motto is ‘let’s get weird,’ and some people might take offense to that, but overall it is come and explore your inner self and have a little bit of fun,” said Clark. “My favorite part is watching everyone smile, and there is a lot of laughter.”

Lodging can be tricky for this event as all the rooms get booked months in advance, but you might have some luck with cancellations. People can also stay in Sun Valley or make a day trip out of it.

Click here for the event schedule.

This week, crews are working to bring snow to downtown as Stanley hasn’t received as much snow as they normally have. However, there was a lot of snow near Galena Summit and also at Banner Creek Summit on Highway 21.