Mountain wave activity brought high winds to the Absaroka Range and the Clarks Fork Gap. A peak gust of 101 mph was recorded at Clark with a measured gust of 76 mph on Chief Joseph Pass.
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The episode as NWS RIW wrote it up.
Mountain wave activity brought high winds to the Absaroka Range and the Clarks Fork Gap. A peak gust of 101 mph was recorded at Clark with a measured gust of 76 mph on Chief Joseph Pass.
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 14, 3:46 PM MST, 4 hours 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 346 PM MST MON FEB 14 2011 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS FORMED ALONG THE LEE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS TODAY HOLDING BACK THE SUNSHINE AND THUS IMPACTING THE HIGH TEMPS. BREEZY TO WINDY AREAS HAVE OCCURRED TODAY WHICH HAS AIDED IN WARMING SOME PLACES AGAIN TODAY. THE NEXT BATCH OF CLOUDS ARE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION NOW AND WILL BE GONE BY 02Z AT THIS POINT. PRECIP IS SPARSE UPSTREAM WITH THIS WEAKENING WEATHER SYSTEM AS IT MOVES ACROSS IDAHO INTO MONTANA TONIGHT. THE NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS MAY ONLY SEE SNOW AT THE HIGHEST PEAKS FROM THIS SYSTEM TONIGHT. DRY ELSEWHERE WITH BREEZY TO WINDY AREAS TONIGHT IN THE FAVORED AREAS OF THE SOUTH AND CENTRAL AS WELL AS THE NORTHWEST IN THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS. TUESDAY AND TUESDAY LOOK DRY FOR MOST PLACES WITH THE WIND CONTINUING IN THE SAME PLACES. NW WY SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY PLACE THAT COULD SEE ANY PRECIP AND THAT WOULD BE SCATTERED AT BEST AS THE MODELS CONTINUE TO TREND DRIER EACH RUN. HAVE TRIMMED BACK PRECIP CHANCE IN THE NW. ON WEDNESDAY THE TROUGH MOVES TOWARD IDAHO WITH AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE AND A BETTER CHANCE OF PRECIP IN THE AFTERNOON. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT INCREASES ON WEDNESDAY WHICH WILL BRING MORE WIND INTO THE PICTURE FOR THE CENTRAL WIND CORRIDOR. AT THIS POINT HIGH WIND WATCH MAY BE NEEDED WEDNESDAY LATE MORNING THROUGH LATE EVENING. HAVE INCREASED THE WIND SPEEDS SOME AND ADDED INFO TO THE HWO PRODUCT. EAST OF THE DIVIDE LOOKS DRY WEDNESDAY. IT APPEARS THE TROUGH COMES THROUGH IN PIECES WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY WITH SNOW FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND THE WEST. A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW EAST OF THE DIVIDE EARLY ON...THEN CHANGING TO ALL SNOW WITH THE COLDER AIR MOVING IN ON THURSDAY. BRISK WIND FOR MANY LOCATIONS AS THE TROUGH AND COLD FRONT PASS THROUGH THURSDAY. TEMPS TO REMAIN A CHALLENGE THROUGH THE PERIOD AS THE SNOW COVERED BASIN INVERSIONS WILL TRY TO HOLD ON TUESDAY...THEN MIX OUT ON WEDNESDAY. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY COOL AND UNSETTLED WEATHER EXPECTED ACROSS WEST AND CENTRAL WYOMING DURING THIS PERIOD. MEDIUM RANGE GLOBAL MODELS GENERALLY AGREE ON KEEPING LONGWAVE TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN U.S. THROUGH THIS PERIOD WITH SUBSTANTIAL SPREAD MAINLY INVOLVING POLAR VORTEX OVER NUNAVUT. THIS SPREAD RESULTS IN SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE SOUTHWARD EXTENT OF ARCTIC AIR INTRUSIONS AND POSSIBLE TEMPERATURE SCENARIOS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. GFS SPLITS ENERGY DIVING SOUTH AROUND BACKSIDE OF VORTEX IS THUS WEAKER WITH SOUTHWARD PUSH OF ARCTIC AIR WHILE ECMWF KEEPS MUCH OF THIS ENERGY ROTATING AROUND SOUTH SIDE OF VORTEX AND IS THUS MORE AGGRESSIVE PUSHING ARCTIC AIRMASS BACK TO THE EAST SLOPE OF THE WYOMING DIVIDE SATURDAY. FORECAST LEANS TO THE COLDER ECMWF SOLUTION SATURDAY WITH GRADUAL MODIFICATION OF AIR MASS AFTERWARDS. ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION AS SHORTWAVE RIDGE BUILDS BETWEEN EXITING SHORTWAVE ACROSS THE PLAINS AND UPSTREAM UPPER TROUGH ALONG THE SOUTH/CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...ARCTIC FRONT MAY SURGE SOUTH INTO CENTRAL WYOMING SATURDAY WITH LIGHT UPSLOPE SNOW POSSIBLE BEHIND THE FRONT. UPSTREAM UPPER TROUGH EXPECTED TO KICK ACROSS AREA SUNDAY WITH CONTINUED COOL WEATHER WITH THE BEST CHANCES FOR SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST. MONDAY...SHORTWAVE DIVING OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL KEEP LONGWAVE TROUGH CARVED OUT ACROSS THE WESTERN U.S. FOR CONTINUED COOL WEATHER WITH THE BEST CHANCES OF SNOWFALL SHIFTING TO THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS. && .AVIATION... GUSTY SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED IN THE USUAL SPOTS... KU25...KCPR...KRKS AND KCOD...TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. A DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AND ANOTHER AROUND MID MORNING. MAINLY SOME LOWERING CLOUDS CAN EXPECTED WITH LOCAL MVFR CIGS POSSIBLE IN THE FAR WEST VALLEYS...ESPECIALLY WITH THE MID MORNING DISTURBANCE. COULD SEE SOME LIGHT SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. CLOUDS LIFT OUT BY LATE MORNING WITH VFR CONDITIONS PREVAILING. && .FIRE WEATHER... DRY WEATHER FOR MOST PLACES TONIGHT WITH ONLY SCATTERED LIGHT SNOW IN THE NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS WITH LITTLE ACCUMULATION. TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WILL BE DRY FOR MOST PLACES. SCATTERED LIGHT SNOW MAY OCCUR IN THE NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS. BREEZY TO WINDY AREAS TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE FAVORED LOCATIONS. ON WEDNESDAY MOISTURE IS TO INCREASE IN THE WEST WITH LIGHT SNOW DEVELOPING IN THE AFTERNOON. THE WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH WYOMING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY WITH MOUNTAIN SNOW AND A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. IT WILL BE QUITE WINDY WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN THE CENTRAL WIND CORRIDOR. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...AR LONG TERM...AEM AVIATION...TWB FIRE WEATHER...AR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 214 PM MST MON FEB 14 2011 WYZ001>020-022>030-151200- 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- 214 PM MST MON FEB 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG WEST WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH ALONG WITH LOCAL WIND GUSTS OF 55 MPH ARE LIKELY LATE TONIGHT ALONG THE EAST SLOPE OF THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS IN THE COMMUNITY OF CLARK IN THE ADJACENT CODY FOOTHILLS NORTH OF CODY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY GUSTY WEST WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH ARE LIKELY TUESDAY MORNING ALONG THE EAST SLOPE OF THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS IN THE COMMUNITY OF CLARK IN THE ADJACENT CODY FOOTHILLS NORTH OF CODY. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH ARE ALSO EXPECTED TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST FREMONT AND NATRONA COUNTIES. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION IN WESTERN WYOMING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO REPORT ANY WIND GUSTS OVER 40 MPH. THANK YOU. 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 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, February 2011
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: 275266, 275269.