It looks like a wacky weekend of weather for Boise: Sun and warmth, rain and cold
Boise residents will enjoy a true late-February weekend over the next few days.
With spring right around the corner — meteorological spring starts March 1 — Idahoans will be treated to a balmy weekend. But a cold front that moves through Sunday evening is expected to bring rain and potentially even snow to the valley floors.
Here’s what to expect on this wacky weather weekend.
A spring start to the weekend
Treasure Valley residents will enjoy clear skies and high temperatures around the 60-degree mark on Friday and Saturday.
The National Weather Service in Boise forecasts a high of 58 on Friday and 61 on Saturday, but low temperatures will dip back into the 30s overnight.
A mild air mass has parked itself over Southern Idaho over the past couple of days, Weather Service meteorologist Jackson Macfarlane told the Idaho Statesman, pulling warmer air from the south into the Gem State.
But the good times won’t last long. A cold front from the Pacific Northwest will move into Idaho on Sunday night, providing us with a stark reminder that we’re still in winter.
Rain and snow in the valleys
Next week will begin with wet and cold weather. The cold front will push rain into the area starting Sunday night around 11. As temperatures continue to fall through Monday, rain could transition to snow.
But don’t expect to wake up Tuesday to a blanket of snow across your car or lawn. Macfarlane said the timing of the rain in conjunction with the cold front means there will be a small window of time when snow can fall in the Treasure Valley.
“The cold front is a little bit awkward with the precipitation,” Macfarlane said. “We’re expecting most of the precipitation to occur prior to the cold frontal passage. And obviously, we’re not going to get down to below freezing until after the cold front passes.”
If snow does fall in Boise, it’ll occur Monday evening, primarily before 11 p.m. Macfarlane said he expects only about two-tenths of an inch of precipitation to fall in Boise.
Heavier snow in the mountains
Although most of the precipitation will fall as rain in the Treasure Valley, higher elevations will pick up at least a few inches of snow.
The latest forecasts have the snow ceiling sitting at around 6,000 feet, the lowest elevation at which precipitation is pure snow.
Bogus Basin’s base elevation sits at 5,800 feet and the summit is 7,600 feet. Macfarlane said he expects areas above 6,000 feet at Bogus Basin to pick up about 2-3 inches of snow during the storm.
He also noted that parts of the west-central Idaho mountains, such as McCall and Stanley, will pick up about a foot of snow.
