Seriously, Mother Nature? Strong storms flood, close Boise roads. And keep on thundering

A flash thunderstorm formed above Boise on Tuesday evening, dropping up to 1.5 inches of rain in less than 90 minutes in parts of downtown.

And it was just a preview of the night to come.

The heavy rain and accompanying hail — some of which measured up to three-quarters of an inch — caused localized flooding throughout the city. High water along Interstate 184 prompted police to close the highway in both directions from the start of the Connector at 13th Street to mile marker 4, Idaho State Police dispatch told the Idaho Statesman at about 7:45 p.m.

"The atmosphere was kind of primed and ready to go," Dave Groenert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boise, told the Statesman.

"It was so just moist and unstable you just need that little spark, so to say, and they popped off quick," Groenert continued. "And right now what we’re seeing is kind of like a train, where one develops and then one develops behind it, and then they just kind of keep moving."

The Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Boise until 10:15 p.m., a flash-flood warning until midnight and a severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 p.m., with more storms forming to the south and east of the initial storm, which popped up at around 6:45 p.m.

Groenert said he expected the storms to continue through the night, and high gusts of wind were also possible. A storm with loud thunder, lightning flashes and heavy rain rolled through the East End into downtown at about 9 p.m.

"We’ve had one report in excess of 50 miles per hour" on wind gusts, Groenert said. "A lot of reports have been in the 45 to 50 miles an hour with this wind coming up from the south."

Despite the heavy rains causing flooding and trouble throughout the city — including at City Hall, where a council meeting was delayed, and in many parking garages — several Boise residents made the most of the rare weather by floating around flooding parking lots on inflatable rings.

The National Weather Service and law enforcement were urging anyone who decided to travel to use "extreme caution."

Idaho Power's map showed four small outages scattered around Boise at 10 p.m., with the largest one affecting 76 customers. The most problematic outage in the Treasure Valley was in north Nampa, where more than 1,500 customers were affected.