NAMPA, Idaho — Air inversion trapping emissions and fog over the valley creates a unique situation over Nampa, with snow isolated over industrial areas in the city.
- Winter is setting in on the Treasure Valley, but so far it only looks like it in Nampa.
- Driving from Meridian into Nampa, a clear border is apparent where the snow globe begins.
- Nampa Streets Division crews adjusted their salt reserve stocking after using 60,000 gallons of road brine around this time last year.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"We've been at condition one, which is slight freezing or frost on the roadways," explains Nampa Streets Department Assistant Superintendent Steve Overweg.
Winter is setting in on the Treasure Valley, but so far it only looks like it in Nampa.
"With that, we've put down in the last eight days eight thousand gallons of brine so far and we've had crews coming in early throughout the last eight days to prepare for that, to help de-ice bridges and intersections as needed," he adds.
Nampa's industrial emissions make it a unique area for the valley, with the dense inversion fog being seeded by particulates from factories — creating its own precipitation
Idaho News 6 Chief Meteorologist Scott Dorval explains, "It causes those raindrops, those little tiny droplets, to crystallize into ice crystals and it falls out and it's actually falling like snow. And that's why it will accumulate around those areas."
Driving from Meridian into Nampa, a clear border is apparent where the snow globe begins.
"We're getting that snow with that light northwesterly drift of a breeze," Dorval continues, "Just very, almost imperceptible. It's bringing the snow from, say, Franklin Road more towards Garrity."
Around this time last season, the Nampa Streets Division rocketed through over 60,000 gallons of road brine. The experiences of last season led the crew to reevaluate how they stock the salt to protect the 900 miles of commuter lanes in the city.
Speaking on the stocking changes, Overweg explains, "Going forward, what we did is have a three-year stockpile from here on out. So that way, if we do have any future events like we had, we will be prepared for it."
