High Wind — North Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

2015-11-18 · North Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

Event narrative

A wind gust of 60 mph was recorded at North Big Horn County Airport in Cowley. The ASOS at the South Big Horn County Airport in Greybull registered a wind gust of 58 mph.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front pushed south into Wyoming during the morning hours of Wednesday, November 18. The pressure gradient and favorable winds aloft combined to produce widespread high winds over most lower elevation locations. Ahead of the front, westerly wind routinely gusted between 60 and 70 mph, especially during the morning and midday hours. Peak winds across northern Wyoming were generally from the northwest and occurred immediately after passage of the cold front. Some of the strongest winds were recorded in northern Johnson County, where peak speeds of 74 mph and 84 mph were observed at the Buffalo airport and a mesonet sensor along I-90 east of Buffalo, respectively. The strongest gusts were registered west of Clark during the early morning with the peak gust being 104 mph around 0100MST.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 606489. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.