Approaching low pressure strengthened the pressure gradient across Wyoming producing damaging wind gusts. Minor damage to a gas station was reported in Cody where a wind gust to 68 mph was recorded on the west side of town.
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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.
Approaching low pressure strengthened the pressure gradient across Wyoming producing damaging wind gusts. Minor damage to a gas station was reported in Cody where a wind gust to 68 mph was recorded on the west side of town. Another gust to 68 mph was measured farther south in the Rattlesnake Range in Fremont County.
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 Mar 3, 11:39 AM MST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 1139 AM MST MON MAR 3 2008 .UPDATE... SHORTWAVE IN THE PAC NW WILL MOVE RAPIDLY EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL BEGIN DURING THE MID AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTHWEST WY...MAINLY IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK...ACCORDING TO 12Z RUNS OF THE GFS AND NAM. INCREASED THE CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THIS AREA TO HIGH CHANCE CATEGORY. H7 GRADIENT WILL TIGHTEN TONIGHT ACROSS NORTHERN WY...AS THE SHORTWAVE DIGS SOUTHEASTWARD INTO SOUTHERN IDAHO AND WESTERN WY. H7 WINDS ACROSS THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS WILL PEAK AT AROUND 50 KT...AND EXPECT SUSTAINED WINDS IN THIS AREA OF 40 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH. CANCELLED THE HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE ABSAROKAS FROM 00Z TO 12 Z TUESDAY...SINCE THESE WIND SPEEDS WILL FALL JUST BELOW CRITERIA. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 257 AM MST MON MAR 3 2008/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT TRANSITORY RIDGE CURRENTLY OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING EARLY THIS MORNING. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AHEAD OF A VIGOROUS PACIFIC SHORT-WAVE TROUGH WILL INCREASE PACIFIC MOISTURE AND BEGIN ANOTHER ROUND OF ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS. AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON FROM APPROXIMATELY JACKSON NORTHWARD INTO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK WITH AN INCH OR TWO OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE ALONG WEST AND SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES WEST OF THE DIVIDE BY SUNDOWN. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS THROUGH THE WIND CORRIDOR (FROM THE RED DESERT NORTHEAST TO CASPER) AND IN THE CODY FOOTHILLS WILL DEVELOP TODAY AS SURFACE LOW PRESSURE GRADUALLY DEEPENS DURING THE DAY OVER FAR NORTHEAST WYOMING AND STRONG SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN REMAINS IN PLACE. ISSUED A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE ABSAROKA...GREEN AND RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAINS FOR TONIGHT AS A RESULT OF THE STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND PROGGED H7 WINDS OF 55-65KTS IN THESE AREAS. SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN EAST OF THE DIVIDE IN THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING AS FAVORABLE WEST-NORTHWEST FLOW ADVECTS MOISTURE AND COMBINES WITH OROGRAPHIC EFFECTS TO BRING SNOW INTO THIS AREA. ADVISORY LEVEL SNOW AMOUNTS ARE ANTICIPATED TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING IN THE NORTHWEST AND BIGHORN MOUNTAINS. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN THE TETON AND GROS VENTRE MOUNTAINS NORTH INTO YELLOWSTONE...THEN EAST TO THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY. QUITE THE COMPLEX UPPER LEVEL PATTERN SETTING UP TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WITH SEVERAL SHORT- WAVES/VORT LOBES PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH THE STATE. TUESDAY NIGHT WILL HAVE TO BE CLOSELY MONITORED AS SUBTLE CHANGES IN THE MID- LEVEL TROUGH/CLOSED LOW PLACEMENT WOULD SPELL MORE UPSLOPE NORTHEASTERLY FLOW EAST OF THE DIVIDE AND SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW FOR THE CODY AND LANDER FOOTHILLS. A COLD NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ALL AREAS AND CHANCES FOR MOUNTAINS SNOW SHOWERS. LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY GFS/ECMWF IN GOOD AGREEMENT OVERALL WITH WEATHER PATTERN THU THROUGH NEXT MONDAY...WITH SOME TIMING ISSUES TOWARD NEXT SUN AND MON WITH FEATURES. NNW FLOW ALOFT THU AND THU NIGHT WITH ANOTHER SURGE OF COLD AIR INTO THE HIGH PLAINS WITH NE WY ON THE FRINGE OF COLD AIRMASS. WILL KEEP LOW PRECIP CHANCE IN THE NE ZONES FOR NOW. UPPER RIDGE MOVES TO WY ON FRI WITH MOSTLY DRY DAY EXPECTED. NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM FRI NIGHT AND SAT LOOKS WEAK WITH ANOTHER ONE SAT NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. WILL HAVE LOW PRECIP CHANCES IN THE MTS AND NE ZONES. A MOIST WNW FLOW ALOFT FORECAST NEXT SUN BY GFS/ECMWF WHICH WOULD FAVOR THE WESTERN MTS. THEN FLOW ALOFT BACKS TO WSW NEXT MON AHEAD OF THE NEXT TROUGH. WILL HAVE CHANCE OF PRECIP IN THE WEST MON SPREADING EAST MON NIGHT. AS FOR TEMPS...STILL FAIRLY COLD ON THU THEN WARMER ON FRI. NEAR SEASONAL TEMPS NEXT WEEKEND. AVIATION... WEAK HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE ALOFT WILL BE OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING TODAY. EARLY SOME VALLEY AND BASIN FOG WILL BE AROUND...ESPECIALLY OVER FRESH SNOW COVER WITH LOCAL TERRAIN OBSCURATIONS. BY MID DAY...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA. IN THE AFTERNOON HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE IN NORTHWEST WYOMING AHEAD OF A PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE TROUGH MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. BY LATE AFTERNOON SCATTERED MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP IN THE WEST...INCREASE AND SPREAD SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH THE NIGHT. SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED AROUND KJAC AFTER 21Z MONDAY. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS WILL BECOME COMMON BY 06Z TUESDAY. FIRE WEATHER... STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP ONCE AGAIN TODAY ACROSS THE WIND CORRIDOR AND CODY FOOTHILLS. ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE DISTRICT TONIGHT AND TUESDAY WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOWFALL EXPECTED IN MANY AREAS. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WATCH FROM 11 PM MST THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING FOR WYZ019. && UPDATE...SMITH SHORT TERM...CHURCH LONG TERM...AR AVIATION...C.BAKER FIRE WEATHER...CHURCH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 400 AM MST MON MAR 3 2008 WYZ001>020-022>030-041300- 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- 400 AM MST MON MAR 3 2008 ...HIGH WIND WATCH TONIGHT FOR THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS... ...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE GREEN MOUNTAINS AND RATTLESNAKE RANGE FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING UNTIL 8 AM TUESDAY MORNING... .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO BRING ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL TO THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL WYOMING BEGINNING TONIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED IN THE TETON AND GROS VENTRE MOUNTAINS NORTH INTO YELLOWSTONE PARK...THEN EAST TO THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS BY SUNRISE TUESDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED IN THE REMAINING WESTERN MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. AREAS OF STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. HERE A WEST WIND AT SPEEDS OF 45 TO 55 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH GUSTS AROUND 75 MPH. IN THE GREEN MOUNTAINS AND RATTLESNAKE RANGE STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH MID MORNING TUESDAY. SOUTHWEST WIND SPEEDS HERE WILL BE FROM 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 60 MPH OR HIGHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY TUESDAY EVENING OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE NORTHWEST AND BIGHORN MOUNTAINS. 3 TO 6 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION ARE POSSIBLE IN THE REMAINDER OF THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE IN THE WESTERN VALLEYS. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE IN THE CODY AND LANDER FOOTHILLS TUESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SNOW AMOUNTS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. TEAM RIVERTON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 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, March 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: 83822, 83823.