High Wind in Wyoming, August 16, 2002

Name: High Wind in Wyoming, August 16, 2002
Start: 2002-08-16T15:34
End: 2002-08-16T16:51
Location: Wyoming

August 16, 2002 · NWS UNR · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

An unusually strong cold front blasted across Northeastern Wyoming during the afternoon. Temperatures dropped quickly behind this front.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS UNR wrote it up.

An unusually strong cold front blasted across Northeastern Wyoming during the afternoon. Temperatures dropped quickly behind this front. A very tight pressure gradient combined with strong subsidence to create widespread high winds over most of the area. Winds were sustained around 40 mph with gusts to 75 mph measured.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour 34 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
300 PM MDT FRI AUG 16 2002

LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS LOW PRESSURE CENTER CURRENTLY CROSSING THE
BLACK HILLS. TEMPERATURES HAVE RISEN OVER 100F AT A FEW LOCATIONS TO
THE EAST OF THE BLKHLS AS THE SFC TROUGH PASSED THROUGH AND WESTERLY
DOWNSLOPE WINDS DEVELOPED.

STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHING KMLS IN SE MT. WIND GUSTS TO 49KTS AT
KBIL AS THE FRONT PASSED THROUGH WITH SFC PRESSURE RISES UP TO
13MB/3HR IN THE STRONG CAA BEHIND THE FRONT. STRONG PRESSURE FALLS
OF -5MB/3HR OUT AHEAD OF THE LOW ACROSS CENTRAL SD.

MODELS HAVE INITIALIZED WELL AND ARE IN DECENT AGREEMENT WITH
PLACING THE MAIN FEATURES OVER NRN PLAINS. VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE
CROSSING THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL HELP TO DRIVE THE FRONT SOUTHWARD
ACROSS OUR CWA THIS EVENING. ETA BUKIT SOUNDINGS INDICATING GREATER
THAN 50KT WINDS JUST ABOVE THE SFC AT KRAP THIS EVENING AND STRONG
CAA...FRONTOGENESIS AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE...AS SEEN ON THE WATER
VAPOR IMAGERY WILL HELP TO DRIVE STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE AREA
TONIGHT. THEREFORE WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE CWA
THIS EVENING. WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF TSRA IN THE NW SD ZONES THIS
EVENING AS STRONG LL WAA BRINGS MOISTURE AROUND THE NORTH SIDE OF
THE SFC LOW AND IMPRESSIVE DYNAMIC LIFT PASSES ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA.

CAA ON SATURDAY WILL LEAD TO NOTICEABLY COOLER HIGH TEMPS. TEMPS
WILL REBOUND INTO THE LOWER 80S BY SUNDAY AND WILL REMAIN NEAR THERE
INTO MID WEEK. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WILL SEE A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVES
MOVING ACROSS THE REGION AND BRINGING ANOTHER SHOT OF COOLER AIR AND
A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. EXPECT TO SEE TEMPS FALLING BACK INTO THE 70S
TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK.

.UNR...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS EVENING FOR ENTIRE CWA
       RED FLAG WARNING TONIGHT ALL FIRE ZONES

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northern Campbell

When: August 16, 3:34 PM MST to 4:34 PM MST
Where: Northern Campbell forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Crook

When: August 16, 3:40 PM MST
Where: Western Crook forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.589, -104.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Wyoming Black Hills / E Crook / X Ne Weston

When: August 16, 3:50 PM MST to 3:55 PM MST
Where: Wyoming Black Hills / E Crook / X Ne Weston forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.215, -104.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northeastern Crook

When: August 16, 3:55 PM MST
Where: Northeastern Crook forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Weston

When: August 16, 4:30 PM MST
Where: Weston forecast zone
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.841, -104.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, South Campbell

When: August 16, 4:51 PM MST
Where: South Campbell forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wyoming in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, August 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5310909, 5310911, 5310914, 5310913, 5310912, 5310910.