Pocatello Weather Forecast Office History

The National Weather Service arrived in Eastern Idaho in 1895, with its first home in Idaho Falls and the main forecast office in Portland, Oregon. The office moved to Pocatello on July 1, 1899 for improved telegraph communications.

The initial Pocatello Weather Forecast Office (WFO) location was next to the railraod on Railroad Street in downtown Pocatello, then on the Cook block in 1901. The office then relocated to the Federal Post Office at Lewis and Arthur Streets in 1916. Military operations and a new airport encouraged the next move to McDougal Field in 1938. During 1949, another move took the office 2.5 miles west to the Pocatello Municipal Airport, where it has resided ever since. Most forecasts originated from the Boise office for the entire state for many years until the Pocatello WFO acquired full forecast and warning responsibility for Central and Eastern Idaho in 1999.

Other offices that cover Idaho

• Boise, Idaho
• Missoula, Montana
• Spokane, Washington