High Wind — Upper Wind River Basin, Wyoming

2018-02-04 to 2018-02-05 · Upper Wind River Basin, Wyoming

Event narrative

A narrow and intense snow squall brought a period of high winds to the Upper Wind River Basin. The weather stations at DuBois and Crowheart both reported 60 mph wind gusts.

Wider weather episode

A pair of cold fronts moved across Wyoming and brought areas of heavy snow across northern and western portions of the state. The Big Horn Mountains saw heavy snow with some notable amounts including 20 inches at the Powder River SNOTEL and 16 inches at Shell Creek. Some of the other high amounts in the mountains included 19 inches at Evening Star in the Absarokas, 16 inches at Blind Bull Summit in the Salt and Wyoming Range and 13 inches at Togwotee Pass in the Tetons. In the Big Horn Basin, 10 inches of snow fell at Ten Sleep and anywhere from 6 to 9 inches in the Greybull area. In addition, an intense snow squall developed in western Fremont County and moved at speeds of up to 70 mph across the Wind River Basin. Wind gusts of up 77 mph were reported, and the intense winds destroyed a trailer on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 738611. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.