High Wind — Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming

2020-12-20 · Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming

Event narrative

A prolonged period of high wind occurred along the Chief Joseph Highway in Park County, Wyoming. Sustained winds of over 60 mph occurred for several hours. There were also numerous wind gusts over 75 mph including a maximum gust of 91 mph.

Wider weather episode

An upper level disturbance moved across Wyoming. The disturbance tightened the pressure gradient across the area. In addition, favorable jet dynamics mixed strong mid level winds to the surface and brought high winds to much of the area. Many locations had wind gusts over 58 mph with several locations having hurricane force wind gusts. Some of the more notable gusts included 91 mph along the Chief Joseph Highway, 79 mph at Buffalo, Wyoming, 75 mph south of Casper, Wyoming and 66 mph at the Rock Springs airport. At Cody, Wyoming, numerous trees were downed, some up to two to three feet in diameter. One tree fell on a house, causing extensive roof damage. The strong winds led to transportation problems as well with road closures and bans on high profile vehicles, including along Interstate 80.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 930526. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.