May 15, 1997
During the month of May, unusually heavy snow pack at the higher elevations of Idaho began to melt. Runoff swelled many rivers statewide to flood stage. Hardest hit by damaging floods were the counties in the Idaho Panhandle. where seven counties were declared state disaster areas. An estimated 4 Million dollars in property damages were suffered and miles of road were flooded throughout the region disrupting transportation. The major rivers of the region...the Pend Oreille, St. Joe and Coeur
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database (event 5604355). Narrative written by NWS staff at the time of the event.
This event is one of many recorded floods in Northern Panhandle County. See the full FEMA flood zone map, NFIP claim totals, and disaster history for the area.