Idaho
El Niño and snow in the Idaho Panhandle
Many people observed the lack of snow at our beloved ski resorts around the Idaho Panhandle this past fall to early winter and asked, “Where is the snow?” Some might suggest it’s the result of El Niño, but what does that mean? This article describes what El Niño is, weather conditions it often produces, and the effects El Niño may have on our snowpack.
El Niño is part of a phenomenon called ENSO — El Niño Southern Oscillation. To describe ENSO, we’ll have to look south towards the equator and west coast of South America. Along the equator, winds blow from the east. This easterly flow between South America and Australia pushes ocean water to the west, towards southeast Asia and northern Australia. When these winds move water away from the west coast of South America, deep, cold ocean water rises to replace the lost mass of water being pushed to the west in a process called upwelling. When those winds are weak, little amounts of ocean water are being pushed to the west, decreasing the amount of cold water upwelling, and increasing sea surface temperatures; this is an El Niño event. When these winds are strong and move larger amounts of water, it increases the amount of upwelling, thus bringing more deep, cold water to the ocean surface and cooling it down. This scenario is called La Niña. When sea surface temperatures are neither above nor below normal, ENSO conditions are considered neutral.
El Niños and La Niñas alter the meteorological conditions over the Pacific Ocean, and subsequently the weather patterns that affect our region. Under El Niño conditions, wetter storm tracks typically progress towards the southern part of the U.S., and generally results in dry and warm conditions in the Northwest. In La Niña, cooler and wetter systems come from the Gulf of Alaska down across the Northwest states but typically leaves the southwestern U.S. dry.
So how does El Niño affect snowpack in the Idaho Panhandle? El Niño’s typically result in low snowpacks in the Panhandle due to fewer cold storms and warmer-than-normal conditions. The warmer air affects the precipitation type. So instead of snow, rain is often present, especially in lower elevations. 2005 and 2015 are El Niño years similar to the current 2023-2024 winter season. Each had near-record to record-low snowpacks for their winter seasons. It’s important to note, that just because it’s an El Niño winter, it doesn’t mean that’s always the case. There are many instances of winters with significant snow events during an El Niño resulting in near to above-normal snowpack. Such years are 1995, 2003, 2007 and 2009. However, this year we are seeing an even lower snowpack early in the season compared to 2005 and 2015.
In addition to warmer conditions from El Niño, a long, narrow strip of air carrying abundant moisture from the tropics called an atmospheric river passed through in early December. While the storm brought significant precipitation and pushed snowpack to near-normal conditions, the warm, tropical air rushed into the region and quickly transitioned the snow to rain. These conditions melted up to 10 inches of snow at all elevations monitored in the SNOTEL network (automated snow measurement stations) in the Idaho Panhandle. The atmospheric river event coupled with infrequent storms and dry conditions typical of El Niño has resulted in the lowest snowpack on record for most SNOTEL sites in the Idaho Panhandle as of Jan. 1. Even with the extreme cold and frequent storms throughout January, it was still not enough to pull the Idaho Panhandle basins out of near-record to record-low snowpack. These conditions are considered a snow drought and can cause low water supply and reduced streamflow.
Winter is about halfway over, but there is potential for snowpack conditions to improve, however, the snowpack has a tough road to reach near-normal conditions. ENSO is expected to return to neutral conditions from April through June, so El Niño should hit its peak soon. Only time will tell if weather patterns continue to play out to traditional El Niño conditions, potentially causing a record-low snowpack, or if this winter season will improve.
Guest author Cody Brown is a hydrologist with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Our Gem Coeur d’Alene Lake Collaborative is a team of committed and passionate professionals working to preserve lake health and protect water quality by promoting community awareness of local water resources through education, outreach and stewardship. Our Gem includes local experts from the University of Idaho — Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber of Commerce and Connect Kootenai.
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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