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Winter arrives with a bang in southeast Idaho

So, what was it like in southeast Idaho during the premature, pre-Thanksgiving storm? Here’s what our colleagues in District 5 (Pocatello area) had to battle:

The Nov. 23 storm tied the record for snowfall, broke the record for wind speed and shattered the low temperature record for the entire period of reporting in southeast Idaho.
The Nov. 28 storm set a new record for snowfall.
Both storms featured sustained wind speeds above 30 knots (nearly 35 mph) over much of southeast Idaho.
The average snow depth accumulation this season on the RWIS sensors is 1.25 cm SWE. This is almost twice the winter average for the last two years (0.6 and 0.8 respectively).
The District 5 storm index for the winter to date is 0.41. This feat is remarkable considering the violent record-setting nature of the past two storms, and compares well with our goal of 0.5 or less.
Despite record storm intensity, the average ice duration on D-5 roads this winter is 15 hours. Last winter (08-09) we used sand and our average ice duration was 28 hours.

Keeping these roads open means a lot to our families, and our customers. Wayne Curtis received a call from someone last week who very badly needed to get to Missoula for a medical emergency with a family member. It was great to be able to report to him that all D-5 roads were open, despite the blizzard.