Parts of Boise got rain, another lightning show Thursday. Here’s what happened
Some residents in the eastern sections of Boise were treated to a flash thunderstorm and lightning show Thursday night when an isolated storm blew through the area.
A low-pressure system tracking across North Idaho brought widespread rain to the Idaho panhandle, but a few storms developed in Southern Idaho before tracking northward. The storm that hit parts of Boise at around 9:45 p.m. dropped up to 0.26 inches of rain, according to measurements from the National Weather Service in Boise.
“It was pretty localized,” Weather Service meteorologist Spencer Tangen told the Idaho Statesman on Friday. “It tracked from south of Meridian and the Kuna area, through Southeast Boise, and then into the mountains.”
The storm dropped 0.12 inches of rain on lowland areas such as Harris Ranch, Tangen said, before gaining strength and dropping over a quarter of an inch over part of the foothills.
Spectators also got to watch a show, with plenty of lightning illuminating the sky. Seven lightning strikes were recorded in Ada County and 33 in Boise County, but the Weather Service records only cloud-to-ground strikes, not cloud-to-cloud strikes.
️Amazing light show east of the Boise Airport this evening. #idwx pic.twitter.com/4BbgnyfTWw
— NWS Boise (@NWSBoise) September 8, 2023
“There was a lot of in-cloud lightning ... and probably a lot more than the number of strikes that hit the ground,” Tangen said.
It’s been an active summer of rainy weather for Boise, with the city receiving 2.51 inches of rain in August, far above the monthly average of 0.17 inches.
But it looks like Boise is in for a dry spell now as the days tick toward fall. The Weather Service forecasts clear skies until at least Thursday, with highs reaching up to 88 degrees on Saturday. Boise’s average high temperature for early September is 83 and drops to 74 by the end of the month.
Dry weather is expected for the most part over the next 7 days. Here's a look at the forecast high temperatures. #orwx #idwx pic.twitter.com/E3zSotJKd2
— NWS Boise (@NWSBoise) September 8, 2023
The Climate Prediction Center also forecasts nothing overly exciting for Idaho — the Gem State has equal chances of either above- or below-average temperatures and rainfall, meaning it’s likely that Idaho won’t deviate too much from the mean.
