Idaho
East Idaho winter hits pause again, but snow season is far from over – East Idaho News
POCATELLO — While eastern Idaho received some much-needed and anticipated snowfall at the beginning of the month, the wintry conditions appear to have been short-lived. Much of the region is once again seeing bare ground and warmer-than-average temperatures.
However, despite a slow start to winter, forecasters and water managers concur: “We’re not doomed yet.” It is still too early to draw solid conclusions about the overall winter or water year.
Dry and mild winter pattern continues
According to meteorologist Andrew McKaughan at the National Weather Service office in Pocatello, weather models are showing little to no chance of precipitation for at least the next two weeks.
“Unless something drastically changes, we’re seeing zero chance of precipitation for at least the next week and a half, maybe longer,” McKaughan said. “High and low temperatures will be about 10 degrees above normal, with few exceptions.”
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Over the next week and into the extended forecast period, east Idaho can expect mostly dry and relatively mild winter weather. High pressure will keep skies mainly sunny to partly cloudy, with daytime highs generally in the upper 30s to low 40s and overnight lows mainly in the teens to low 20s.
While patchy morning fog may develop at times as temperatures cool overnight, McKaughan said precipitation is not expected through much of the forecast period.
Toward the latter part of the outlook, there may be limited chances for light snow or mixed precipitation, though no major storms are currently forecast.
McKaughan, who moved to east Idaho from Florida and has been forecasting weather in the region for the past six years, said this winter stands out.
“This is the strangest winter I’ve seen so far,” he said.
However, McKaughan emphasized that despite the lack of snow, the region is not dry, saying, “Much of the precipitation this winter has fallen as rain, leaving soil moisture levels high, which is an important factor heading into spring.”
What’s the water outlook?
Craig Chandler, water manager for Water District 1, said this year’s water outlook is shaped by two competing dynamics: low physical water storage entering the season, but high overall precipitation, much of it in the form of rain.
Water District 1 encompasses the Upper Snake River Basin, located above American Falls Reservoir, including the Snake River and its tributaries, such as the Henrys Fork, Teton, Falls, Blackfoot, and Portneuf river systems.
In a recent report provided to EastIdahoNews.com, Chandler said the Upper Snake River reservoir system is currently holding approximately 1.9 million acre-feet and is 47% full. Storage is well below average and about 570,000 acre-feet lower than at this time last year.
Since Oct. 1, 2025, precipitation accumulation for the Snake River above Milner is 134% of the median to date, a strong start to the season. However, unusually warm temperatures — with several records broken — have caused a larger share of that precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow.
As a result, soil moisture is around 130% of average for the Snake above Milner.
Snow accumulation has lagged behind precipitation totals but remains above average in key areas, according to Chandler. Current snow water equivalent (SWE) is:
- 129% for the Snake above Heise
- 103% for the Henrys Fork–Teton
- 80% for the Willow Creek–Blackfoot–Portneuf
Chandler explained that because the majority of system runoff is generated from the Snake above Heise, that basin remains the primary driver of spring inflows.
Reservoir priorities and what comes next
Chandler said the April–June runoff will likely need to be well above average for the system to have a realistic chance of filling. While conditions are favorable from a precipitation standpoint so far, the region is only about halfway through the snow accumulation season.
Although SWE above Heise is currently 129% of average for this date, it is still just 54% of its typical seasonal peak, leaving room for additional accumulation.
The American Falls 1921 storage right is currently a priority and is expected to remain so through the remainder of winter. Whether it completely fills will depend on spring runoff, though probabilities favor a complete or near-complete fill due to its senior priority.
Fill into more junior storage accounts — Island Park (1935), Palisades (1939), and Ririe (1969) — is less certain. If runoff is low, it remains possible these accounts could receive little to no new fill.
Meanwhile, Jackson Lake’s 1910 and Henrys Lake’s 1917 storage water rights are currently accruing all inflows under their senior priorities. Jackson Lake’s 1910 account is likely to fill completely, while the 1913 account will depend on runoff. Lake Walcott, Palisades Winter Water Savings, and Island Park Winter Water Savings storage rights have already filled.
“This winter could turn into a bad scenario, but we’re only halfway there,” Chandler concluded. “Overall, with three months of weather yet to go, it remains too early to predict the water supply for the region.”
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The Idaho State Police say that Robert Giesick, 40, from Billings is the man missing in a crash on State Highway 55 near Cascade, about 80 miles north of Boise.
A pick-up truck driven by Giesick ended up in the Payette River after a head-on crash with another pick-up truck.
Watch Idaho crash story here:
Idaho state troopers identify Billings man missing in traffic accident
“I was able to find some people that saw a male, an adult man, swimming for the shore from the truck,” said Idaho State Trooper Richard Knapp, who attempted to rescue Giesick. “Unfortunately he didn’t make it. He got swept downriver. Witnesses lost sight of him, and that was the last time anybody saw him.”
Knapp says search crews looked extensively for the 40-year-old, but after 24 hours, it became a recovery effort for the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit.
After that on Monday came the monumental task of removing the pickup truck from the raging water.
“It was an intensive a recovery, honestly, our operators were tested, their knowledge was tested,” said Mark Boisvert, Code Red Towing owner. “They said it was a very extreme recovery for them, more than usual.”
Idaho business owners have less than a month to decide how to comply with a new state law criminally banning trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.
The law is set to take effect July 1, which would make it a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses within five years.
It’s currently being challenged in federal court by the ACLU of Idaho.
On Tuesday, a panel sponsored by Idaho Employment Lawyers encouraged companies to prepare now as if the law will remain in effect as litigation continues.
Cody Earl, a lawyer for St. Luke’s Health System who spoke on the panel in his personal capacity, said there are several paths businesses can take.
Converting all bathrooms into single-use, gender-neutral facilities is one option, though it could be costly for larger businesses. Earl said companies could take other steps to make the transition more affordable.
“Even if it is a gender-specific restroom, [adding signage] that indicates where the closest gender-neutral restroom is so you could at least show that you’re giving employees an option or a choice,” he said.
Simply adding locks and only allowing one person at a time to a multi-stall bathroom is another choice, though panelists said that could be problematic for businesses with large amounts of customers, like restaurants and bars.
Idaho Employment Lawyers owner Pam Howland said companies also need to consider how this will affect their staff.
“This could definitely create some culture issues,” said Howland. “Do you have the policies you need to ensure your expectations as an employer of respect and civility are being followed? Possibly code of conduct provisions related to that? How about privacy?”
Those policies could include limiting or outright banning recording at the workplace.
Another legal wrinkle to complying with the law, the panel said, is that precedent in both the U.S. Supreme Court and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibit discrimination based on someone’s gender identity.
Gender dysphoria, a mental health designation that causes severe distress to someone when their sex doesn’t align with their gender identity, has been considered a protected condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act in certain cases.
Republican state lawmakers argued earlier this year that Idaho needs to take this first-in-the-nation step to protect women and girls when they use the restroom in private businesses.
A 2025 study out of UCLA hasn’t found any increased risk to safety by allowing transgender people to use restrooms aligning with their gender identity.
A federal court in Boise will hear arguments over whether to approve or reject a preliminary injunction on June 5.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Remember that 250 years ago, nobody had ever heard of Idaho, and the name was mostly made up by an entrepreneur who impressed the federal government with an exaggeration about his knowledge of indigenous culture. But a large number of people who live in the state can trace ancestry to the colonial era, and I believe most Americans still have a love of country, even if some polls give an indication they may not quite know how to express it.
I Was at the Heart of the Bicentennial
Looking back 50 years, I was in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July. Washington also didn’t exist in 1776. My memory is that its reputation as a hot, sticky swamp was well earned. I traveled there with a history club from school. On a rattling old yellow bus. The city was packed, and many of the people on the streets were foreign tourists. It told me that despite the anti-Americanism common on streets elsewhere around the world, we were still fascinating others.
We’re Still One Nation
1976 was a unifying experience and followed a very turbulent previous 15 years. Some people fear the 250th jubilee won’t bring us together. Look, those rent-a-mobs you see on TV and online are actually a small fraction of America. Picnics in the park don’t make news. Riots and tear gas get the attention of newsrooms. There are still far more picnics.
The recent Memorial Day commemorations were reverential. Independence Day 2026 is going to be a party. The media focus will be on President Trump and a festival far away. Meanwhile, across Idaho, grills will be fired up, and we’ll be proud to be Americans.
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