Parts of Idaho looked like the Arctic on the first full weekend of summer when torrential thunderstorms and hail flooded the streets with ice floats, according to dramatic social-media footage. 

In a wild scene Saturday outside the state’s capital of Boise, a resident was caught on Instagram footage paddling a bright green kayak through the ice-covered floodwaters rushing down a suburban road — while a rural county near Nevada was hammered with a staggering 553 lightning strikes. 

“It was small hail, but there was an awful lot of it,” said Josh Smith, the Boise-based National Weather Service’s lead meteorologist, to the Idaho Statesman. 

Cars parked along local streets were nearly swallowed by surging water from the relentless rains – with some vehicles submerged up to their windows – while trash bins floated through the makeshift river, the surreal footage shows. 

The widespread storm damage across the Gem State’s Treasure Valley region – a heavily-populated area that encompasses parts of Ada and Canyon counties – was also fueled by winds topping 50 mph, the Statesman said.

As for the hail, “Even some of our employees that were in northwest Meridian said they had several inches of small hail on the ground,” Smith said.

“That probably led to some of the flooding issues with some of those neighborhoods because all that melted off quickly, and the drains weren’t able to handle it – in addition to the inch-plus rain that we received,” Smith explained. 

Lightning was also relentless throughout the storm, with rural Owyhee County – located about 150 miles south of Boise, near the Nevada border – recording a mind-boggling 553 lightning strikes. 

Ada County had 100 strikes in one day – the second-most ever recorded on a single day in June since 2000, according to Smith and the National Weather Service. 

Officials in Canyon County declared a countywide disaster emergency as crews scrambled to respond to the damage, while employees with the Ada County Highway District worked overnight clearing flooded roads and addressing other hazards, the Statesman reported. 

The Boise Police Department shared photos of the river-like road conditions on Facebook, urging drivers to use “extreme caution.” 

In neighboring Payette County, mudslides triggered by severe flooding caused many highway and street closures Friday, according to the sheriff’s office. 

It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured. 

The dangerous weather was expected to continue through the weekend, forecasters warned. 

The NWS issued a winter storm warning Saturday for parts of eastern Idaho, where elevations above 6,500 feet were expected to be battered with as much as 8 inches of snow. 

“Plan on cold and wet backcountry conditions with a heightened hypothermia risk for those not properly dressed. Wet snow may down trees and block access to forest roadways,” the advisory warned, according to the East Idaho News. 

GREAT FALLS — For Staff Sgt. Brianna St. Lawrence-Brody, service does not only happen in uniform.

Outside the gates of the base, she works at Benefis as a nurse, Great Falls Public Schools as a school nurse, and comes home as a wife and mom of four. For the Montana Air National Guard, she serves as a command post controller with the 120th Airlift Wing in Great Falls.

(WATCH: Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition)

Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition

This year, St. Lawrence-Brody was named the U.S. Air National Guard’s Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Non-Commissioned Officer category.

She said the recognition came as a surprise, especially because her path into the Guard started later than others.

“I joined very late in life,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I joined the Guard right before I turned 40. So for me, every opportunity that’s presented, I want to take the bull by the horns and just run with it and do the best of my ability.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the Guard after finishing nursing school. She said she went straight from nursing school into helping open a COVID unit, while also working at Benefis.

She said that experience was the start of one journey, but not the whole of what she wanted to accomplish.

St. Lawrence-Brody joined the Guard for the opportunities, the challenge and to help build a future for her four children.

“It’s a little bit of a competition for myself,” she said. “Like, if I can do it, why not try my best to achieve it?”

As a command post controller, she assists in helping move information during emergencies and major events.

“Outside, obviously, I’m a nurse. Inside the Guard, I have nothing to do with the medical field, which is kind of amazing,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “It keeps me on my toes.”

She explained balancing the Guard, two civilian jobs and four children takes support from her family, her employers and her unit. She said Benefis and GFPS have been supportive of her military service.

Her nomination included her deployment experience, training work overseas and involvement across the wing. St. Lawrence-Brody said she deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she worked with an operations center supporting entities connected to Africa.

But, she says this recognition is not the finish line.

“This award, it’s not necessarily a landing pad for me,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I want to use it as a springboard.”

120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

St. Lawrence-Brody hopes her story encourages others to keep taking on new opportunities, even when they feel uncertain.

“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and be okay with doing things afraid,” she said. “I think when you get to be okay with doing things afraid, that’s where you’re going to find the growth.”

She has already won at the Air National Guard level, but she recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the broader Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year process, which includes nominees from the Guard, Reserve and major commands across the Air Force.