Strong westerly flow produced high wind in the Absaroka Range while a strengthening pressure gradient induced high wind in central Wyoming. An automated sensor over Chief Joseph Pass along State Highway 296 recorded sustained wind speeds of 50 to near 70 mph during the evening of Saturday, December 27.
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The episode as NWS RIW wrote it up.
Strong westerly flow produced high wind in the Absaroka Range while a strengthening pressure gradient induced high wind in central Wyoming. An automated sensor over Chief Joseph Pass along State Highway 296 recorded sustained wind speeds of 50 to near 70 mph during the evening of Saturday, December 27. After a lull, the wind again increased at this site early Sunday afternoon, December 28, registering a sustained speed of 64 mph. Sustained wind of 40 to 44 mph was recorded along U.S. Highway 20/26 near Hiland early Sunday afternoon. At the same time, a peak gust to 73 mph was recorded at Fales Rock RAWS.
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 Dec 27, 3:24 PM MST, 3 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 324 PM MST SAT DEC 27 2008 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MODELS REMAIN IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON ACTIVE WX PATTERN ACROSS WYOMING. SHORTWAVE RIDGING ALOFT TO BE REPLACED BY MOIST ZONAL FLOW ON SUNDAY. THIS MOISTURE IN THE STRONG ZONAL FLOW WILL RESULT IN PLENTY OF SNOW IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND INCREASE IN SFC WINDS ACROSS MOST LOWER ELEVATIONS EAST OF THE DIVIDE. FIRST...WEST OF THE DIVIDE. THIS AREA WILL BE AIDED BY GOOD ISENTROPIC LIFT AND DEEP MOISTURE. HAVE TO BELIEVE SNOWFALL WILL BE CONTINUOUS IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND MOST OF YELLOWSTONE NATL PARK SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AND POSSIBLY TUESDAY. MODELS SHOW GENEROUS QPF OVER THIS REGION...INCLUDING THE WESTERN VALLEYS. HARD TO NAIL DOWN SNOW AMOUNTS AT THIS TIME...BUT WILL LIKELY REACH WARNING CRITERIA FROM THE TETONS TO PARTS OF SALT AND WIND RIVER RANGES. THEREFORE...WILL ISSUE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR MOST OF WESTERN WYOMING BEGINNING SUNDAY AFTERNOON. ISENTROPIC LIFT SHOULD WEAKEN BY LATE MONDAY ACROSS WESTERN WY. AT THE SAME TIME...A VERY SUBSTANTIAL WIND EVENT LOOKS TO BE DEVELOPING IN THE FAVORABLE WIND PRONE AREAS OF THE RIVERTON CWA. A PRONOUNCED UPPER LEVEL JET WILL PUT MOST OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WY IN FAVORABLE HIGH WIND SCENARIO...ALTHOUGH STRONGEST WINDS LOOK TO MIX DOWN SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. HOWEVER...GOOD DOWNWARD FORCING BEGINS DURING THE DAY SUNDAY AS REGION IS UNDER INFLUENCE OF RIGHT FRONT QUADRANT OF H3 JET. THIS IS WHEN 110-120KT JET NOSES INTO NORTHERN WY. H7 WINDS ARE EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE BY EARLY MONDAY...SPCLY FROM THE MONTANA/WYOMING BORDER TO THE CODY FOOTHILLS. IN FACT...WILL UPGRADE HIGH WIND WATCH TO HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ABSAROKAS AND CODY FOOTHILLS BEGINNING THIS EVENING. CURRENT OBS AND WIND PROFILE WILL KEEP WINDS NEAR OR ABOVE CRITERIA THIS EVENING AND MOST OF TONIGHT FOR THOSE AREAS. WIND DIRECTION EVEN BECOMES MORE FAVORABLE BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY FOR HIGH WIND EVENT FROM SOUTHERN WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS TO KCPR. ALTHOUGH WILL HIT WINDS HARD ACROSS THESE WIND PRONE AREAS TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY...WILL GO EVEN STRONGER BY SUNDAY AFTN AND HOIST A HIGH WIND WATCH. THIS WATCH WILL ALSO INCLUDE THE ABSAROKA RANGE AND CODY. OVERALL...ALL MODELS SUPPORT THIS SCENARIO. MOST OF WIND RIVER BASIN SHOULD BE SHELTERED FROM THESE STRONG WINDS THROUGH SUNDAY...BUT MONDAY COULD BE DAY INVERSION IS BROKEN RESULTING IN WINDY DAY JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE. OTHERWISE...IT WILL BE DRY EAST OF THE DIVIDE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE BIG HORN MOUNTAINS. RH FIELDS SUPPORT PTCLDY TO MOCLDY SKIES EAST OF THE DIVIDE INTO TUESDAY. HOWEVER...THE LOWER ELEVATIONS COULD BE MOCLR AT TIMES SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT DUE TO THE DOWNWARD FORCING/DRYING. AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...TEMPS WILL BE AT OR ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH TUESDAY WITH THE DOWNSLOPING WINDS ACROSS THE RIVERTON CWA. WILL LET LATER SHIFTS ADJUST TIMING OF WIND AND SNOW AMOUNTS IF NECESSARY. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE THE CASE FOR THE HIGH WIND WARNING IN ZONES 2-3...SPCLY SINCE WARNING WILL LIKELY NEED TO BE EXTENDED. OTHERWISE...HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE OUT BY LATE THIS AFTN. .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY FORECAST FOR THIS PERIOD WEIGHTED HEAVILY TOWARD THE ECMWF...ESPECIALLY IN THE LATER HALF OF THE PERIOD. OMEGA BLOCK REMAINS OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL PACIFIC AND BERING SEA THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH STRONG PROGRESSIVE ZONAL FLOW OVER THE U.S. GFS OPERATIONAL BECOMES INCREASINGLY OUT OF PHASE WITH GEFS MEAN AND ECMWF AS IT ATTEMPTS TO SPLIT SHORTWAVE ENERGY AROUND TOP OF BERING SEA RIDGE AND DOWN WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA RATHER THAN THIS ENERGY TAKING THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE BY UNDERCUTTING THIS RIDGE. THEREFORE GFS BRINGS A MUCH STRONGER SHORTWAVE ACROSS AREA THURSDAY. FEW CHANGES MADE TO GOING FORECAST WITH HIGH CHANCE OR LIKELY POPS MAINTAINED ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH THE LOW-END POPS BEHIND SHORTWAVE PASSAGE TUESDAY AND THE HIGH-END POPS AHEAD OF AND WITH SHORTWAVE PASSAGE WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THIS NEXT SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED TO DRIVE A COLD FRONT INTO NORTHERN WYOMING THURSDAY WITH SOME LOW POPS ACROSS THE NORTHERN BIG HORN BASIN THROUGH JOHNSON COUNTY. ECMWF SHOWS STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION ALONG WITH DRYING IN THE WEST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. HOWEVER FORECAST WAS WEIGHTED MORE TOWARD EARLY JANUARY CLIMATOLOGY MAINTAINING HIGH CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE WEST WITH NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE SEASONAL TEMPERATURES AND BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS EAST OF THE DIVIDE. && .AVIATION... WIDESPREAD LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL CONTINUE FAR WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS TONIGHT. THE ASSOCIATED IFR CONDITIONS WILL IMPACT KJAC TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. AREAS OF MVFR CONDITIONS IN LIGHT SNOW ARE EXPECTED FARTHER TO THE EAST...IMPACTING KBPI AND KPNA TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL EAST OF THE DIVIDE. STRONG TO VERY STRONG WEST/SOUTHWEST WIND WILL CONTINUE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WESTERN WYOMING...IN THE LEE OF THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AND THROUGH THE WIND CORRIDOR FROM JUST NORTHEAST OF KRKS TO KCPR. LCL BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY AND CREATE BRIEF WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. && .FIRE WEATHER... A STRONG STORM SYSTEM CONTINUES TO PUSH TOWARD WYOMING. SNOW AND WIND WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE RIVERTON CWA BY SUNDAY AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY. MORE HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED WEST OF THE DIVIDE. HOWEVER...THERE WILL BE NO IMPACT TO FIRE WEATHER DURING THIS PERIOD. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WATCH FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR WYZ019-020-022-030. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR WYZ001-012>015-023-024. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST SUNDAY FOR WYZ002-003. && SHORT TERM...KPL LONG TERM...TEAM RIVERTON AVIATION...CHURCH FIRE WEATHER...KPL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 348 PM MST SAT DEC 27 2008 WYZ001>020-022>030-281200- 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- 348 PM MST SAT DEC 27 2008 ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AND THE CODY FOOTHILLS THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING... ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...JACKSON HOLE AND STAR VALLEYS SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... ...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR EASTERN SWEETWATER COUNTY AND NATRONA COUNTY MIDDAY SUNDAY THROUGH MIDDAY MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SUSTAINED WEST WIND RANGING FROM 35 TO 50 MPH WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AND CODY FOOTHILLS WITH WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 65 AND 80 MPH ARE EXPECTED THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A STRONG AND MOIST FLOW OF PACIFIC AIR WILL BRING PERIODS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW TO WESTERN WYOMING SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL LIKELY OCCUR SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. 10 TO 15 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE BY MONDAY EVENING OVER THE TETONS AND THE NORTHERN SALT RIVER RANGE. LESSER AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES COULD OCCUR ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SALT RIVER...NORTHERN WIND RIVER AND WYOMING RANGES. LOCATIONS IN THE JACKSON AND STAR VALLEYS WILL LIKELY A TOTAL OF 3 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOW BY MONDAY EVENING. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM THE GREEN MOUNTAINS TO THE CASPER AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THESE WINDS WOULD IMPACT TRAVEL ALONG HIGHWAYS 220 AND 287. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT HIGH WINDS IN THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AND CODY FOOTHILLS THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY. THANK YOU. TEAM RIVERTON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, December 2008
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: 142158, 142159, 142160.