High Wind — Central Carbon County, Wyoming

2023-12-03 to 2023-12-04 · Central Carbon County, Wyoming

Event narrative

A peak wind gust of 60 MPH was observed at the KRWL (Rawlins) ASOS at 9:15 PM and 10:09 PM MST on 12/3.

Wider weather episode

An extremely active weather pattern remained in place across the central Rockies during this time period, mainly characterized by a parade of weather disturbances embedded within an unusually strong mid and upper-level jet stream. This weather pattern resulted in persistent moist orographic ascent over the higher terrain of the Snowy and Sierra Madre mountain ranges, leading to an extended period of very heavy mountain snowfall. SNOTEL observations suggest 4 to 6 feet of snow fell in the mountains over this 72-96 hour period. In addition to the mountain snow, the elevated flow aloft combined with strong pressure gradients and strong subsidence resulted in multiple waves of strong winds with gusts 65-75 MPH, initially starting in the southeast Wyoming wind corridors before eventually spreading into the adjacent valleys and high plains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1146155. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.