# Picabo, Idaho

Picabo (pronounced /ˈpiːkəbuː/) is an unincorporated community in Blaine County, Idaho, United States.

## Description

Picabo is located along U.S. Route 20, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Carey, 19 miles (31 km) southeast of Hailey, and 31 miles (50 km) northeast of Shoshone. It has a gas station, country store, post office, and a small airport. The community is surrounded by large ranches and irrigated fields. The 2000 United States census for this ZIP Code shows a population of 128 in 56 housing units in 104 km$^2$ (40 sq mi).
Picabo is located about 56 miles (90 km) north of the Snake River along the northern edge of the Snake River Plain, a topographic depression that cuts across the Basin and Range Mountain structures of southern Idaho. The nearest flowing stream is Silver Creek, a scenic spring-fed tributary of the Little Wood River, a key source of irrigation water for eastern Blaine County. The pristine Silver Creek is renowned among fly fishermen and was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway, who enjoyed hunting and fishing along the stream with local rancher, Bud Purdy.

## Name

The name "Picabo" supposedly derives from a Native American term translated as "silver water". The name "Picabo" was made familiar by Picabo Street, an Olympic skier who grew up in nearby Triumph.

## Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Picabo has a warm-summer mediterranean continental climate, abbreviated "Dsb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Picabo was 102 °F (38.9 °C) on July 17, 1998, and July 11, 2002, while the coldest temperature recorded was −37 °F (−38.3 °C) on December 23, 1990.
Climate data for Picabo, Idaho, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1958–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 53 (12) | 63 (17) | 72 (22) | 84 (29) | 92 (33) | 100 (38) | 102 (39) | 100 (38) | 99 (37) | 87 (31) | 70 (21) | 57 (14) | 102 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 43.6 (6.4) | 47.6 (8.7) | 60.9 (16.1) | 72.4 (22.4) | 82.2 (27.9) | 90.6 (32.6) | 96.7 (35.9) | 94.3 (34.6) | 89.0 (31.7) | 77.2 (25.1) | 60.4 (15.8) | 46.2 (7.9) | 97.5 (36.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 31.8 (−0.1) | 36.4 (2.4) | 46.5 (8.1) | 57.1 (13.9) | 67.1 (19.5) | 76.1 (24.5) | 86.8 (30.4) | 85.5 (29.7) | 75.6 (24.2) | 60.6 (15.9) | 44.5 (6.9) | 32.3 (0.2) | 58.4 (14.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 19.4 (−7.0) | 23.3 (−4.8) | 32.9 (0.5) | 41.2 (5.1) | 50.6 (10.3) | 57.6 (14.2) | 66.5 (19.2) | 65.2 (18.4) | 56.5 (13.6) | 44.0 (6.7) | 31.3 (−0.4) | 20.8 (−6.2) | 42.4 (5.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 7.1 (−13.8) | 10.1 (−12.2) | 19.3 (−7.1) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 34.1 (1.2) | 39.0 (3.9) | 46.2 (7.9) | 45.0 (7.2) | 37.4 (3.0) | 27.3 (−2.6) | 18.1 (−7.7) | 9.3 (−12.6) | 26.5 (−3.0) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −9.0 (−22.8) | −4.2 (−20.1) | 7.4 (−13.7) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 24.3 (−4.3) | 30.0 (−1.1) | 38.7 (3.7) | 36.7 (2.6) | 27.4 (−2.6) | 15.6 (−9.1) | 2.8 (−16.2) | −7.7 (−22.1) | −14.3 (−25.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −33 (−36) | −30 (−34) | −15 (−26) | 8 (−13) | 14 (−10) | 24 (−4) | 29 (−2) | 24 (−4) | 16 (−9) | −3 (−19) | −18 (−28) | −37 (−38) | −37 (−38) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.78 (45) | 1.15 (29) | 1.52 (39) | 1.09 (28) | 1.45 (37) | 0.86 (22) | 0.31 (7.9) | 0.23 (5.8) | 0.58 (15) | 1.15 (29) | 1.05 (27) | 1.80 (46) | 12.97 (330.7) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 13.9 (35) | 8.5 (22) | 2.8 (7.1) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.3 (0.76) | 4.1 (10) | 15.2 (39) | 45.6 (115.86) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 14.2 (36) | 12.4 (31) | 7.3 (19) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 2.3 (5.8) | 9.4 (24) | 16.9 (43) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.8 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 59.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 5.4 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 5.1 | 18.5 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service ||||||||||||||