Blizzard, Northeast Johnson County
- When
- February 11, 7:30 AM MST to 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Northeast Johnson County forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.039, -106.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Wyoming, February 11, 2004
Gusty north wind created white-out conditions near Buffalo. Interstate 90 was closed from Buffalo north to the Sheridan County line during portions of the morning as blowing and drifting snow caused visibilities to drop to near zero.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 RIW wrote it up.
Gusty north wind created white-out conditions near Buffalo. Interstate 90 was closed from Buffalo north to the Sheridan County line during portions of the morning as blowing and drifting snow caused visibilities to drop to near zero.
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 Riverton, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 11, 6:57 AM MST, 33 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 6:57 AM MST, 33 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 657 AM MST WED FEB 11 2004 .TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... UPPER TROF BACKING INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION THIS MORNING...WITH WYOMING UNDER INCREASING NORTH TO NORTHEAST FLOW. COLD FRONT WENT THROUGH NORTHERN WYOMING THIS PAST EVENING AND INTO CENTRAL WYOMING BEFORE MIDNIGHT...AND IS CURRENTLY OVER SOUTHERN WYOMING. A FEW HOURS OF SNOW ACCOMPANIED THE FRONT MAINLY IN FAVORABLE UPSLOPE AREAS. BIGGEST CONCERN IS THE BLOWING SNOW AROUND BUFFALO WHERE I 90 NORTH TO THE MT BORDER HAS BEEN CLOSED. NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH EARLIER HAVE TAPERED SOME TO 20 TO 30 MPH...THOUGH STILL CAUSING BLOWING AND DRIFTING. THESE WINDS TO CONTINUE TODAY WITH GRADUALLY DIMINISHING. LIGHT SNOW TO MOVE INTO THE SOUTH AROUND DAYBREAK AND THEN MOVE OUT OF THE AREA BY LATE MORNING... THOUGH SOME LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE. RIDGE BUILDS IN BEHIND THE WAVE...WHICH SLIDES INTO THE GREAT BASIN. COLD H7 TEMPERATURES OF -22C MOVES OVER THE AREA TODAY...SO WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES EXPECT SURFACE TEMPS TO DROP BELOW ZERO MOST AREAS TONIGHT. SOME FOG IS POSSIBLE IN THE CENTRAL BASINS AND WESTERN VALLEYS. THE BEST CHANCE FOR FOG SHOULD BE FRIDAY MORNING AS STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION TO CREATE STEEP INVERSIONS THURSDAY NIGHT WITH CLEAR SKIES CONTINUING. LEE SIDE TROF BEGINS TO BUILD IN OVER EASTERN MONTANA AND WYOMING THURSDAY NIGHT. WIND PRONE AREAS TO START BLOWING FRIDAY...THOUGH THESE AREAS WILL MIX OUT -2C H7 AIR. MANY OF THESE AREAS WILL LIKELY BE IN THE 40S FRIDAY. BASIN AND VALLEYS...HOWEVER TO REMAIN TRAPPED UNDER STRING INVERSIONS. .SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BREAKS DOWN SATURDAY NIGHT AS UPPER LEVEL SHORT MOVES ACROSS AREA. THE SHORT WAVE IS MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN THE GFS WAS INDICATING LAST NIGHT. WILL GO WITH CHC POPS ACROSS CWFA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SLGT CHC TO CHC POPS ACROSS NORTH AND EAST CWFA ON SUNDAY. GOING WITH A DRY FORECAST FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS UPPER HEIGHTS REBUILD. TEMPS SHOULD REMAIN AROUND SEASONABLE READINGS THROUGH THE EXTENDED FORECAST...HOWEVER HIGHS IN THE 40S ACROSS JOHNSON AND NATRONA COUNTIES BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && TWB/MC
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 11, 5:33 AM MST, 1 hour 57 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 533 AM MST WED FEB 11 2004 WYZ001>020-022>030-121400- ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS-BIGHORN MOUNTAINS SOUTHEAST- BIGHORN MOUNTAINS WEST-CASPER MOUNTAIN-CODY FOOTHILLS- EAST SWEETWATER COUNTY-FLAMING GORGE- GREEN MOUNTAINS AND RATTLESNAKE RANGE-JACKSON HOLE-LANDER FOOTHILLS- NATRONA COUNTY LOWER ELEVATIONS-NORTH BIG HORN BASIN- NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY-OWL CREEK AND BRIDGER MOUNTAINS- ROCK SPRINGS AND GREEN RIVER-SALT RIVER AND WYOMING RANGES- SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST BIG HORN BASIN- SOUTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY-SOUTHWEST BIG HORN BASIN-STAR VALLEY- TETON AND GROS VENTRE MOUNTAINS-UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN- UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN FOOTHILLS-UPPER WIND RIVER BASIN- WIND RIVER BASIN-WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS EAST-WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS WEST- YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK- 533 AM MST WED FEB 11 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LINGERING LIGHT SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TODAY. HOWEVER...NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH GUSTING TO 40 MPH WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN JOHNSON COUNTY AND IN THE BIG HORN MOUNTAINS. THE VISIBILITY WILL BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES ACROSS NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY...INCLUDING BUFFALO DURING THE MORNING HOURS. THE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY TAPER AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RIVERTON TODAY. THANK YOU. TWB
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather in South Dakota, February 11, 2004
- Winter Weather in Iowa, February 11, 2004
- Winter Weather in Minnesota, February 11, 2004
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 11 to 12, 2004
- Cold in Wyoming, February 11 to 12, 2004
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 11 to 14, 2004
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 11 to 12, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 11 to 12, 2004
- Winter Weather in Nebraska, February 11, 2004
- Flood in Louisiana, February 11, 2004
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 11 to 12, 2004
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 11 to 12, 2004
More
Every storm in Wyoming in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, February 2004
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: 5382489.