High Wind — Sheridan Foothills, Wyoming

2021-01-13 to 2021-01-14 · Sheridan Foothills, Wyoming

Event narrative

Winds gusted to 74 mph just northwest of Ranchester.

Wider weather episode

On January 13, 2021, a particularly strong wind event impacted the entire Billings Forecast Area with strong, damaging winds, not only along the foothills (where strong winds are common), but also across the lower elevations of south central and southeast Montana, as well as northern Wyoming. These strong winds were associated with a cold frontal passage and lasted for several hours.

The arrival of a Pacific cold front on the 13th was followed by a period of subsidence and very strong winds across the lower elevations. Aloft, a strong northwesterly oriented jet stream was driving through the northern Rockies, resulting in strong winds at mountain top level. In addition, the cold front also produced light shower activity which enhanced the gustiness of the surface winds. The combination of all these ingredients resulted in the very strong winds. Westerly, wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were common, and gusts exceeded 90 mph at some mountain sites. Sheridan Airport reported a gust of 67 mph which was the 4th highest January gust. (Please see event summary for south central and southeast Montana for details of this event).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 936145. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.