Record-breaking temperatures are coming to eastern Idaho

IDAHO FALLS – After several days of strong winds, the National Weather Service in Pocatello is forecasting another round of unusual weather in eastern Idaho.

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Beginning Tuesday, Meteorologist Dan Valle tells EastIdahoNews.com most of the area will experience record-breaking temperatures.

“We might get close Tuesday, but we will probably break it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and maybe, Saturday,” Valle says.

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Daytime temperatures throughout eastern Idaho are expected to be in the upper 60s Tuesday, hovering close to 70. For the rest of the week, temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s. It may reach 80 degrees in some areas.

The NWS has a temperature breakdown on its website. It shows that daytime temperatures in Idaho Falls and Pocatello on Tuesday will be 67 and 68 respectively. It gradually increases from there, with highs on Friday at 76 in Idaho Falls and 78 in Pocatello.

The website shows a similar trend for Stanley, Challis and Burley. Daytime highs in Burley will be higher than in other places. It’s expected to be 79 degrees there on Wednesday, 81 on Thursday and 80 on Friday.

Valle says the cause of the record-high temperatures is due to a “pull of warm air in the southwest doing battle with a dome of cold air in northwest Canada.”

“The warm air has won out, pushed all the cold air east and that warm, hot air is moving into the region,” he says. “It’s the same reason why we had the wind last week.”

Valle says the last time record temperatures happened in March was in 2017. In Idaho Falls, temperatures were in the upper 60s, and in the low 70s for Pocatello.

“The high was 69 (in Idaho Falls) on March 18, 2017. The record high in Pocatello was 71,” says Valle.

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After a dry winter, Valle says there is a risk of fire danger with the higher temperatures. He’s urging people to practice fire safety.

“As we warm up this week, we’re probably going to have some very sensitive fuels, and we could get some wildfire started pretty easily this week,” says Valle. “People need to (have) the summertime mindset with fire safety — don’t drag a chain and be careful with disposal of ignition sources.”

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