High Wind — Southeast Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

2016-02-13 · Southeast Big Horn Basin, Wyoming

Event narrative

A spotter about 6 miles south of Worland reported shingles being blown off his roof and that his power was out.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front swept south across Wyoming during the afternoon of Saturday, February 13. Ahead of this front, strong mid-level winds worked their way to the surface in the lee of the Absaroka Range west of Clark. This produced a pre-dawn 81 mph gust near Clark. The combination of the mid-level winds and a tightening surface pressure gradient ahead of the front brought high winds to portions of central and northern Wyoming. Peak gusts generally occurred with the abrupt wind shift to the northwest and favored areas prone to northwest wind. The airports at Buffalo and Dubois both registered 70 mph gusts and several other locations recorded peak gusts around 60 mph.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 614435. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.