Idaho

Did a tornado touch down on Tuesday, and how often does eastern Idaho get tornado warnings? – East Idaho News

Published

1 year ago

August 15, 2024

Did a tornado touch down on Tuesday, and how often does eastern Idaho get tornado warnings? – East Idaho News

POCATELLO — A tornado warning was issued on Tuesday by the National Weather Service in Pocatello — but did one ever touch down?

The warning in eastern Idaho lasted for one hour, from 2 to 3 p.m., and affected Jefferson, Butte, Bonneville and Bingham counties. The Idaho National Laboratory area was a concern.

NWS meteorologist Kurt Buffalo told EastIdahoNews.com that the agency never received any confirmation of one that actually touched down.

However, the radar data supported the development of a tornado, as well as what people who were close to the storm saw.

“They were seeing what we call a ‘wall cloud’ … and then we also had some reports of possible funnel clouds developing,” Buffalo said.

RELATED | Tornado warning issued for parts of eastern Idaho

RELATED | Gallery: Severe thunderstorm brings large hail and high winds to eastern Idaho

A wall cloud can rotate, but not all do. Rotating wall clouds usually develop before strong or violent tornadoes, according to a glossary from NWS.

“A funnel cloud is basically the start of a tornado. So it’s the part that is extending downward from the cloud, and it’s rotating, but it never extends downward far enough to actually come in contact with the ground,” Buffalo explained.

So, what’s the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch?

Buffalo said a tornado warning is when they see indications either on radar or reports from people on the field that a tornado is imminent or likely to develop.

“There’s a high threat. We are seeing enough that there is a high threat for a tornado to develop. A warning is when we are actually seeing a thunderstorm that is showing characteristics that could produce a tornado very soon,” he said.

On Tuesday, several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued, producing mainly hail, some the size of about a quarter, and strong wind gusts of around 60 miles an hour.

“When one is issued, just head indoors and take cover in an interior room,” Buffalo said.

He added that Tuesday was the first tornado warning issued this year for the region.

“We usually do issue on average, I’d say, two to four per year for eastern Idaho,” he said.

As for tornado watches, they are typically issued a few hours ahead of time but are rare.

“That’s saying that conditions are favorable for that storm to develop to potentially produce tornados. It’s kind of a heads up,” he said. “We virtually never see tornado watches here.”

The last tornado touchdown in eastern Idaho was near Grace last year on June 23. It was in an open field, and there was no damage, Buffalo told EastIdahoNews.com.

Courtesy Stephanie and Chase Howell

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Idaho

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Published

9 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

EASTERN IDAHO — Dec. 31 marked the end of the first full calendar year of East Idaho Sports. It has been a pleasure to bring our readers coverage of local youth, high school, college and semi-pro sports.

Over the last 12 months, we have covered state champions, national champions, junior hockey league champions, record-breaking performances and so much more. Those of you who have followed along since we launched in August 2024 have seen how we have expanded our coverage to include some interactive features like this Sunday Special series, Game Balls and the Photo of the Week voting.

We look forward to the completion of the winter sports seasons — including some Winter Olympics stories — spring sports, the summer sports schedule and returning next fall to start it all over again.

But we also hope to continue adding to our coverage, and shine spotlights on even more of the great athletes and sports programs in eastern Idaho.

In order to do that, we would like some help.

With just two full-time reporters and one freelance photographer we will regrettably miss things. And while we try to fill those gaps ourselves, we are always open to tips.

If there was a sporting event or sports story that deserved coverage it didn’t receive, please email us at sports@eastidahonews.com. If there is an upcoming event that should be spotlighted, please email us.

Also, our Photo of the Week stories will continue to be posted midday every Monday. If you have photos from a local sporting event that you want to enter in the running, email those to us by Sunday morning. For those who follow the voting — on our public Facebook group East Idaho News – Sports — a reader-contributed photo was recently selected our Photo of the YEAR, and we would love to continue adding those on the weekly ballot.

This photo of West Jefferson’s Justus Burtenshaw during the first round of the state tournament, taken by reader Julie Hall, was selected out East Idaho Sports Photo of the Year.

Finally, we recently added a regular feature we are calling the “Whip-around”: A quick rundown of local high school sports action. In order to expand these stories to include more teams, we would love for coaches, players or parents to send us photos of game scorebooks. If you are linked to a local team and would like your team to be added to these stories, please email us, and we can let you know how to do so.

It has been a pleasure to highlight the many local athletes for their successes and hard work, and we look forward to another year of precisely that.

We will see you at a field, court, course, pool, etc., near you in 2026.