Winter Storm — Southwest Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

2014-12-25 · Southwest Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

Event narrative

Heavy snow fell throughout Hot Springs County. The heaviest amounts were near Thermopolis where totals were 12 to 16 inches.

Wider weather episode

A slow-moving storm system moved out of Utah and across southern Wyoming producing a period of heavy snow on Christmas Day. Low-to-mid level wind flow was from the northeast and favored upslope conditions across Hot Springs, Fremont, and Natrona counties. Snow totals ranged from 7 to 13 inches in these areas. The northern portions of both the Jackson and Star valleys reported snowfall of around one foot. The highest amounts of one to two feet fell in the foothills of the Wind River Range near Lander and on Casper Mountain. The same cold front that produced the favorable upslope flow also brought gusty northeast winds to the basins east of the Continental Divide beginning early Christmas morning. Northeast wind of 20 to 30 mph was common. The strongest wind was in Sweetwater County where sustained speeds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts to 51 mph combined with the snow to produce treacherous driving conditions on Interstate 80.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 549612. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.