Strong west to southwest flow created high wind across southern Fremont County during the day on Saturday, February 9. Sustained wind speeds of 40 mph or more with occasional gusts of 60 to 70 mph were recorded near Sweetwater Station and at Camp Creek RAWS.
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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.
The episode as NWS RIW wrote it up.
Strong west to southwest flow created high wind across southern Fremont County during the day on Saturday, February 9. Sustained wind speeds of 40 mph or more with occasional gusts of 60 to 70 mph were recorded near Sweetwater Station and at Camp Creek 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 Feb 9, 3:25 AM MST, 5 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 325 AM MST SAT FEB 9 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT MODIFIED ARCTIC COLD FRONT ALREADY THROUGH BUFFALO AT 08Z THIS MORNING. CONTINUED IDEA THAT THE FRONT WILL BE FASTER AND MOVE FARTHER SOUTH THAN MODEL SOLUTIONS INDICATE. INCREASED SNOW CHANCES FOR THIS MORNING OVER THE BIG HORN BASIN AS STRONG NORTHWEST JET MOVES OVER THIS AREA AND COMBINES WITH SURFACE CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT. LOWERED AFTERNOON HIGHS OVER NORTHERN AREAS AS A RESULT OF THE FASTER COLD AIR ADVECTION. KEPT LIKELY SNOW CHANCES GOING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTH WITH SURFACE BOUNDARY AND ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE COMBINING TO PRODUCE AREAS OF SNOW. FLOW ALOFT OVER WESTERN WYOMING BACKS TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY AHEAD OF NEXT PACIFIC TROUGH APPROACHING THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COASTLINE. MOISTURE ADVECTION IN THIS PARTICULAR FLOW QUITE POOR AND ANTICIPATING THAT ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT MUCH SNOW OVER THE WEST. LEFT CHANCE LEVEL POPS IN THE FORECAST AS A RESULT. MAIN SNOW EVENT WITH THIS TROUGH WILL COME WITH A STRONG NORTHERLY JET AND THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT LATE SUNDAY NIGHT OVER THE WEST...AND MONDAY MORNING OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH. THIS PROGRESSIVE SHORT- WAVE LIKELY TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TOO FAST FOR MORE THAN SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS IN THE WEST AND IN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. BROAD SHORT-WAVE RIDGE MOVES INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST WITH SLIGHT CHANCE TO LOW END SNOW CHANCES EXPECTED IN THE WEST FOR MONDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT FOR TUE WITH DRY WEATHER FOR MOST PLACES. APPEARS SOME MOISTURE FOR THE NW MTS AND WILL LEAVE THE LOW PRECIP CHANCES THERE. MOISTURE ON THE INCREASE TUE NIGHT AHEAD OF THE NEXT TROUGH OVER THE WEST. THIS MEANS SNOW ON THE INCREASE TUE NIGHT OUT WEST. WILL KEEP SOME LOW PRECIP CHANCES IN THE BIGHORN MTS TUE NIGHT AS WELL. THE TROUGH SPLITS WITH ENERGY DIVING INTO THE SOUTHWEST U.S. WHILE THE NORTHERN ENERGY PASSES ACROSS THE REGION WED PM AND WED NIGHT. A COLD FRONT ALSO FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTH FROM MONTANA WED PM INTO WED NIGHT. THIS MAY BRING AN UPSLOPE PRECIP EVENT TO FAVORED PLACES EAST OF THE DIVIDE WED NIGHT. HAVE MADE SOME CHANGES TO PRECIP CHANCES TO REFLECT THIS THINKING. DRIER AIR WORKS INTO THE AREA THURSDAY WITH SNOW ENDING OVER THE SOUTH IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE DRY OVER THE REST OF THE AREA. THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY LOOK DRY. THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM IMPACTS THE REGION FRI NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. THE GFS IS WEAKER THAN THE ECMWF MODEL WITH THE TROUGH. KEEPING THE PRECIP CHANCE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FAR WEST VALLEYS FRI NIGHT AND SAT. CAN REFINE IN THE COMING DAYS. AS FOR TEMPS...MILD ON TUE. LITTLE CHANGE WED IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH WITH TRICKY TEMP FORECAST IN THE NORTH WED AS FRONT WILL BE NEARBY. COOLER HIGHS THU AND THEN MILDER FRI AND SLIGHT COOLING NEXT SAT. && .AVIATION... STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE TODAY ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA CREATING BLOWING SNOW AT MANY AIRPORTS ACROSS SOUTHERN AND WESTERN WYOMING. SNOW WILL BE FOUND ACROSS WESTERN WYOMING...WHICH WILL CREATE PERIODS OF MVFR TO IFR CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS KJAC... KBPI...AND KPNA. EXPECT HIGHER TERRAIN AROUND THESE AREAS TO BE OBSCURED IN SNOW THOUGH THE AFTERNOON. ELEVATED WINDS WILL ALSO CONTINUE ACROSS FAVORED AREAS THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. && .FIRE WEATHER... LIGHT SNOW CONTINUES OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE DISTRICT. AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN AREAS TODAY WITH AREAS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW EXPECTED IN THE BIG HORN BASIN EAST INTO NORTHERN JOHNSON COUNTY. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE DISTRICT LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY...BRINGING LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW ACCUMULATION TO MOST LOCATIONS. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR WYZ002. && SHORT TERM...CHURCH LONG TERM...AR AVIATION...C.BAKER FIRE WEATHER...CHURCH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 335 AM MST SAT FEB 9 2008 WYZ001>020-022>030-101300- 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- 335 AM MST SAT FEB 9 2008 ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS TODAY... .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT VERY STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ALONG WITH WHITE OUT CONDITIONS IN THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS TODAY. AREAS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW ARE EXPECTED OVER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS TODAY WITH LOCAL BLOWING AND DRIFTING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH 1 TO 2 INCHES IN THE VALLEYS ARE ANTICIPATED. AREA HIGHWAYS WILL REMAIN SLICK...ESPECIALLY THROUGH PASSES AND IN OPEN AREAS WHERE BLOWING SNOW IS ABLE TO ACCUMULATE. A MODIFIED ARCTIC AIRMASS MOVING SOUTH ALONG THE LEE OF THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN WYOMING TODAY. AREAS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE FRONT AS IT BECOMES NEARLY STATIONARY TODAY THROUGH EVENING FROM THE EASTERN BIG HORN BASIN EASTWARD INTO THE BIG HORN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH A TRACE TO 2 INCHES IN THE VALLEYS ARE EXPECTED BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS WILL AFFECT THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY... AND THEN AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. THESE SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AND STRONG WINDS ONCE AGAIN TO WESTERN AND POSSIBLY CENTRAL WYOMING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. IN THE WINDY AREAS...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT WIND SPEEDS AND GUSTS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. TEAM RIVERTON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 739 AM MST SAT FEB 9 2008 WYZ028>030-091900- EAST SWEETWATER COUNTY-FLAMING GORGE-ROCK SPRINGS AND GREEN RIVER- 739 AM MST SAT FEB 9 2008 ...STRONG WINDS MAY CREATE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH...WILL CONTINUE CREATING AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW THIS MORNING. LOCALLY STRONGER WINDS WILL CREATE NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAINLY EAST OF ROCK SPRINGS. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH THIS AFTERNOON. TRAVELLERS ALONG INTERSTATE 80 SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THESE ADVERSE CONDITIONS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 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, February 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: 69217.