High Wind — Upper Wind River Basin, Wyoming

2014-01-13 · Upper Wind River Basin, Wyoming

Event narrative

A wind gust of 78 mph was measured at Crowheart. In addition, a gust to 66 mph was recorded at the Dubois airport.

Wider weather episode

A long-lived winter storm moved across western and central Wyoming beginning early Saturday, January 11, and continuing through the afternoon of January 13. West of the Continental Divide, heavy snow fell in the mountains as a moist, westerly flow infiltrated the region. Snowfall of one to two feet was common, with several reports topping two feet. The heaviest snow fell in the Salt River and Wyoming ranges. Strong wind accompanied this storm system with some sections of central and western Wyoming registering winds in excess of 60 mph.

High wind made its return to areas east of the Continental Divide as northwest flow prevailed across Wyoming on the backside of this storm system. Favored areas in northwest flow aloft saw wind gusts approaching or exceeding 60 mph and in some cases 70 mph. Crowheart clocked a 78 mph gust and much of Johnson County saw gusts between 59 and 62 mph as a cold front pushed south through the county. The colder air also brought a quick, but intense, period of snow to the Cody Foothills on the evening of January 13 and early morning of January 14. Snowfall totals of 8 to 12 inches fell in less than 12 hours within a swath from Cody to Meeteetse.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 486208. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.