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Cold temps promising for snowpack, but Idaho’s drought outlook for 2023 unclear

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Cold temps promising for snowpack, but Idaho’s drought outlook for 2023 unclear


BOISE – The conventional excessive temperature for Boise on Nov. 9 is 52 levels. However final week on that day, the excessive was simply within the 30s.

Even in mid-November, Boise’s regular highs are within the 40s, mentioned Troy Lindquist, a senior hydrologist with the Nationwide Climate Service. That mentioned, the Treasure Valley’s chilly climate final week in tandem with the snow that fell is nice information for Idaho’s water provide, he mentioned.

“That’s almost 20 levels under regular, for Boise, so it’s undoubtedly going to be chilly,” Lindquist mentioned, presenting slides on the forecast for Saturday and Sunday throughout a gathering final week in regards to the outlook for Idaho’s water provide over the following yr. “The great factor about that is we’ve bought a quick begin to our snowpack.”

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The snow now blanketing Idaho’s mountains ought to stick round because the area is unlikely to expertise important warming quickly, he mentioned.

“Hopefully we are able to protect this snowpack,” Lindquist mentioned. “That may be an superior strategy to begin the snow accumulation season.”

Lindquist forecasted the weeks main as much as Thanksgiving to be chilly, however mentioned “there are not any sturdy indications of what precipitation patterns can be like throughout that interval.”

The water outlook for the winter, spring and summer season seems to be promising. La Niña circumstances — when sea floor temperatures of the central Pacific Ocean are under common — are “firmly in place,” Lindquist mentioned. That phenomenon tends to deliver wetter, colder-than-normal climate to the Pacific Northwest, together with Idaho, he mentioned. Nonetheless, that’s not at all times the case — some La Niña years have introduced regular or below-normal precipitation, and regular or above-normal temperatures, he mentioned.

Extra precipitation tends to result in extra runoff, however the Boise River at Fortunate Peak Dam nonetheless fell under regular for runoff within the summers of 2022 and 2021, each La Niña years, Lindquist mentioned.

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Notably, will probably be the third yr in a row for La Niña circumstances, Lindquist mentioned. It can solely be the third time that has occurred since scientists began measuring the phenomenon in 1950, he mentioned. Earlier three-year La Niña intervals embrace 1973 to 1976, and 1998 to 2001, he mentioned.

Not all La Niñas are created equal. Within the earlier 72 years, there have been 21 years of La Niña, seven of which have been “sturdy” La Niña years, 4 “average” and 10 “weak,” Lindquist mentioned.

The circumstances are predicted to taper off someplace in February, March, or April, Lindquist mentioned.

Final yr’s water provide outlook was a little bit of a curler coaster. This time final yr, Idaho’s reservoirs have been about the place they’re now, mentioned Erin Whorton, a hydrologist with the Nationwide Sources Conservation Service. A moist fall 2021 led to the buildup of snowpack however was adopted by the third-driest January by means of March interval on file, resulting in predictions of less-than-normal runoff, together with for irrigation functions. However April and Might introduced rain and funky temperatures, filling many reservoirs in southwest Idaho, offering extra runoff and permitting for irrigation season to finish in September reasonably than August.

October 2022 was comparatively dry and delayed reservoirs from accumulating extra water, Whorton mentioned. However reservoirs are at related ranges to the place they have been this time final yr, which suggests the vast majority of basins want related ranges of snowpack and runoff that they wanted final yr, she mentioned.

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The Boise River system particularly has quantity of carryover from final yr due to spring rains, she mentioned.

In southwestern Idaho, December by means of February is predicted to have equal possibilities of below-normal or above-normal temperatures and is leaning towards above-normal precipitation, based on a chart Lindquist introduced from the Nationwide Climate Service and the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Within the February by means of April and April by means of June intervals, southwestern Idaho has equal possibilities of seeing below- or above-normal temperatures and below- or above-normal precipitation, he mentioned.

From November to the tip of January 2023, the vast majority of Idaho is predicted to emerge from drought or to have drought enhance, apart from a small sliver alongside the state’s southern border, based on a chart introduced by Lindquist.

Nonetheless, David Hoekema, a hydrologist with the Idaho Division of Water Sources, expressed skepticism that the water southern Idaho would get this yr could be adequate to keep away from drought. Because the Eighties, each La Niña yr has seen progressively much less snowpack on April 1 of the yr, Hoekema mentioned, the date thought-about helpful for forecasting spring runoff.

“If we comply with that historic pattern, we’re undoubtedly going to be taking a look at a powerful chance of historic drought,” Hoekema mentioned.

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Idaho

Idaho Falls man arrested after allegedly hitting man in the head with baseball bat in fight over guns – East Idaho News

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Idaho Falls man arrested after allegedly hitting man in the head with baseball bat in fight over guns – East Idaho News


IDAHO FALLS – A 27-year-old Idaho Falls man was arrested Sunday night after he allegedly hit another man in the head after being refused access to his guns.

Augustus Wyatt Gokey was charged with one felony count of aggravated assault causing great bodily harm. If he is found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison.

According to court documents, on Sunday around 10:30 p.m., an Idaho Falls Police officer responded to a report of a man being hit in the head with a baseball bat.

The document states that due to the nature of the call, the officer activated the patrol car’s emergency lights and sirens to get to the home as quickly as possible.

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The officer reported that at the property, a man was seen through the window with a “large laceration to the left side of his forehead.”

The document states that the wounded man signaled the officer into the home. Once inside, the officer yelled, “Police!” and another man came out of the kitchen.

The man was later identified as Gokey. The officer reported that Gokey was “immediately agitated and appeared to be under the influence of something due to his large pupil size and profuse sweating.”

The officer asked Gokey if he had any weapons on him, and he responded he did not. The officer patted him down and found no weapons. He was later placed in handcuffs.

The officer spoke with the man who was hit, who was “bleeding pretty badly,” and when the officer asked if he needed any medical attention, he denied it.

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Another officer arrived and began treating the wounded man, and the first officer spoke with Gokey.

Gokey told the officer that he’d been going through a lot, which involved “an ex-girlfriend having a child and that there were 30 men after him that he was afraid of.”

The officer asked who these men were, but Gokey told him he’d never tell.

When the officer asked him what happened at the home, Gokey said he was there to pick up a shotgun that he had stored at a safe, as he did not feel safe at his home.

Gokey told the officer the other man told him he could not have the gun and that the other man allegedly attacked him and pushed him away from the safe.

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The officer asked how the other man got hurt, and Gokey said when he pushed the man off him, he fell and hit his head on a rowing machine in the basement near the safe.

When questioned about the baseball bat, Gokey said he brought it for protection and denied ever hitting the other man with it.

The officer said that during the interview with Gokey that he appeared to become irate and yell about things other things and had an odor of alcohol coming from him.

Gokey was later placed in the patrol car after he refused to calm down.

While being placed in the backseat of the patrol car, the officer asked Gokey if he had been using any drugs. Gokey replied he wasn’t and that he’d been clean for years, though he said he’d used heroin and fentanyl in the past.

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The other officer who helped the wounded man told the first officer his side of the incident.

According to the man, Gokey came to the victim’s home to pick up a gun and had the baseball bat.

The victim refused to give the firearm to Gokey due to “his mental and physical state he was in, because he did not want anyone to get hurt.”

After the refusal, the man said Gokey had grabbed a grinder tool and was trying to get into the safe with it. The man told him to stop, and that’s when he said Gokey grabbed the bat.

Gokey waved the bat around in a motion, making it appear as if he was going to hit the man. The two then got into a scuffle over the bat, and at one point, he allegedly hit the victim in the forehead.

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The document states there was blood on the barrel and the handle of the bat. The bat itself was taken as evidence.

Gokey is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing before 7th Judicial District Magistrate Judge Stephen Clark at 1 p.m. on March 28.

Though Gokey has been charged with these crimes, this does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Father of Idaho murder victim reacts to updates in Kohberger trial

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Father of Idaho murder victim reacts to updates in Kohberger trial


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A selfie of Bryan Kohberger with a thumbs-up pose taken hours after four University of Idaho students were killed in 2022 may be introduced at his trial. NBC News’ Ellison Barber talks to Steve Goncalves, the father of one of the victims, about his thoughts on the updates from the case.



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University of Idaho Murder Suspect Took Smiling Selfie Hours After Quadruple Homicide | Oxygen Official Site

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University of Idaho Murder Suspect Took Smiling Selfie Hours After Quadruple Homicide | Oxygen Official Site


The latest of many court filings related to Bryan Kohberger’s upcoming murder trial includes photo evidence prosecutors want the jury to see.

In the state’s response to a defense motion, filed with Ada County in Idaho on March 17, 2025, Latah County prosecutors pointed to eyewitness “D.M.” — identified in the media as Dylan Mortensen — who saw the “weird-looking ski-mask”-wearing killer in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022. That was the time, prosecutors claim, Kohberger allegedly stabbed University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death in the beds of their off-campus residence in Moscow.

Court documents, signed by Senior Deputy Prosecutor Ashley Jennings, quoted from several of Mortensen’s interviews with law enforcement, during which the surviving roommate couldn’t quite describe the killer’s facial features except for his distinctive “bushy eyebrows.” Prosecutors stated their intention to introduce a selfie Kohberger took after the murders so the jury can decide whether the detail matched.

Bryan Kohberger took a selfie after the murders

Kohberger took a selfie from his phone on Nov. 13, 2022, at 10:31 a.m., mere hours after the quadruple homicide, according to prosecutors. It would have been around the same time roommates found the victims dead and placed a frantic call to 911.

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The photo, obtained and reviewed by Oxygen.com, shows Kohberger with a close-lipped smile and giving a thumbs-up in a white button-down shirt. His hair is slicked back, and it appears he’s standing in front of a pink, tiled shower, wearing black audio devices in his ears.

In addition to the selfie, prosecutors also provided a copy of Kohberger’s driver’s license, issued September 2020 from his home state of Pennsylvania.

“Defendant argues that evidence of ‘bushy eyebrows’ is not relevant. That is not the case,” prosecutors stated. “D.M. is the only living person who saw the person responsible for the four homicides at 1122 Kind [sic] Road on November 13, 2022. Her description of this individual, including characteristics such as ‘bushy eyebrows,’ has the tendency to make a fact (i.e. the identity of the killer) more probable than it would be without the evidence.”

 University of Idaho Murder Victims’ Ex-Roommate Reveals Final Text: “Knew Something Was Wrong”

The issue with “bushy eyebrows”

The defense, in their initial motion (which remains sealed), moved to strike the eyebrow-related testimony from the courtroom because “its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and confusion of the issues.”

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In their response, prosecutors stated: “What is clear from the defendant’s filing is that the defendant doesn’t like this piece of the state’s evidence … and therefore would like to keep this piece of evidence from the jury. However, his arguments are without merit … This description is clear. It is not confusing and therefore will not confuse a jury.”

A judge has yet to rule.

What did Mortensen report seeing?

Recently revealed texts between Mortensen and fellow roommate Bethany Funke painted a chilling scene of the moment Mortensen saw the killer in a ski-type mask around 4:20 a.m. Shortly before, Mortensen said she was awoken in her second-story bedroom by sounds she believed was victim Kaylee Goncalves “playing with her dog in an upstairs bedroom.”

Mortensen reported hearing “crying” before a male stranger’s voice said, “It’s OK, I’m going to help you,” as repeated in the recent court filing.

Four days later, when speaking to Idaho State Police (I.S.P.) Detective Victoria Gooch and Moscow Police Department Sergeant Dustin Blaker, Mortensen said she opened the door and saw the killer from about three feet away. She said the unknown male wore a “weird-looking ski mask,” black pants, a black long-sleeved top, and black boots.

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“I knew the person was white,” Mortensen reported. “I don’t know how, but I just knew it. Knew it was male. I think I knew that because of the voice. The person was around my height or a few inches taller … And then I knew his build wasn’t like scrawny, and he wasn’t fat, so I figured it was like the basketball toned, lean build.”

Compared to Mortensen’s 5’ 10” height, she guessed the suspect was about six feet tall, according to the prosecution’s response. Bryan Kohberger’s license puts him at six feet even.

However, when Mortensen saw Kohberger’s mugshot following his Dec. 30, 2022, arrest in Pennsylvania, she said she didn’t recognize him.

“When I looked at his picture, nothing came back to me at all,” she told I.S.P. detectives the next day, according to the recent court document.

Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, with a trial start date slated for August 2025. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

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