Say goodbye to the warm weather as colder temperatures are expected 

POCATELLO — The National Weather Service in Pocatello predicts colder temperatures, rain, snow and breezy winds are on the way.

“We are tracking a series of cold fronts building in from the Pacific. One will be rolling in later today from Wednesday night to Thursday and another one will roll in late Thursday into Friday,” said Carter MacKay, an NWS meteorologist. 

MacKay said the first cold front is expected to bring scattered showers and some wind. See the graphic below. 

“We’re still forecasting temperatures across the Snake Plain to be the coldest since the spring and temperatures should be in the 20s to low 30s for everybody,” he said. 

According to a graphic from NWS, morning low temperatures will be cold on the weekend too. On Saturday in Idaho Falls temperatures are predicted to be 25 degrees, Island Park 12 degrees, Pocatello 27 degrees and Rexburg 23 degrees. 

Interestingly, temperatures have been well above normal in October. On Oct. 15, there were two record highs. Pocatello hit 79 degrees which ties the previous record of 79 set in 1973. Idaho Falls hit 78 degrees, which breaks the previous record of 76 set in 1958. 

“This has been the warmest start to October in recent history by a long shot,” MacKay said. 

As for the other cold front, Thursday night could have the potential for snow across lower elevations. An NWS graphic says areas like Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Rexburg could get less than an inch of snow. 

MacKay said typically the first day of at least accumulating an inch of snow in the region is in November. 

With colder temperatures on the way, NWS has stopped issuing frost advisories and freeze warnings. Meteorologists encourage that if people have any more vegetables that need harvested, to have them harvested by Thursday afternoon. 

“Plan ahead for the potential for some winter travel conditions, especially if you’re headed over any mountain passes, particularly into eastern Idaho and Wyoming. We could see several inches of snow accumulating up on places like Teton Pass,” MacKay added.