A large low level pressure gradient and strong winds in the upper levels produced strong and gusty west to southwest winds for portions of southeast Wyoming.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 CYS wrote it up.
A large low level pressure gradient and strong winds in the upper levels produced strong and gusty west to southwest winds for portions of southeast Wyoming.
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 Cheyenne, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 12, 10:44 PM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 1044 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013 .AVIATION...06Z TAF ISSUANCE... STRONG WINDS TONIGHT IN FAVORED WIND PRONE AREAS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ARLINGTON AREA AND AROUND BORDEAUX AS GUSTS AS HIGH AS 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE ACROSS SOUTHEAST WYOMING WINDS WILL GUST AROUND 40 MPH...ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. WINDS IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE TO GUST TO AROUND 30 MPH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. MAINLY VFR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS WEST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE SUCH AS AROUND KRWL. ALSO MOUNTAIN TOPS WILL BE OBSCURED IN THE SNOWY AND SIERRA RANGE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 915 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013/ SHORT TERM... NO CHANGES TO FORECAST TONIGHT. WINDS HAVE STARTED TO CREEP UP IN THE ARLINGTON AREA WITH GUSTS AROUND 50 MPH. HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ARLINGTON AREA TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND FOR THE BORDEAUX AREA. SOME OF STRONGER WINDS MAY HOLD OFF UNTIL LATE TONIGHT AS THE SHORTWAVE SLIDES INTO THE WESTERN DAKOTAS AND RIGHT EXIT REGION OF AN APPROACHING UPPER JET SHIFTS OVER THE AREA. OVERALL LOOKING LIKE A MARGINAL WIND EVENT CONFINED TO THE WIND PRONE AREAS WITH GUSTS AROUND 60 MPH. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 502 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013/ AVIATION...00Z TAF ISSUANCE... MVFR CIGS MAINLY NEAR THE KRWL AREA...OTHERWISE VFR THROUGH TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. STRONG WINDS TONIGHT IN FAVORED WIND PRONE AREAS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ARLINGTON AREA AND AROUND BORDEAUX AS GUSTS AS HIGH AS 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. ELSEWHERE ACROSS SOUTHEAST WYOMING WINDS WILL GUST AROUND 40 MPH...ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. WINDS IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE TO GUST TO AROUND 30 MPH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 323 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY OUTSIDE OF THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. MODELS SHOW NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING AS A CANADIAN COLD FRONT PUSHES SOUTHWARD...IMPACTING SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND WESTERN NEBRASKA ON THURSDAY. THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS WILL BE STRONG WINDS OVER THE WIND PRONE AREAS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. NAM AND GFS SHOW A STRONG LLVL PRESSURE GRADIENT PARTICULARLY AT 850 MB...BUT ALSO 700MB TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THESE VALUES ARE NEAR OR ABOVE THE THRESHOLDS FOR GAP WINDS ACROSS THE REGION...SO UPGRADED THE HIGH WIND WATCH TO A WARNING FOR I80 BETWEEN LARAMIE AND RAWLINS...ALONG WITH THE BORDEAUX AREA ALONG I25 BETWEEN CHUGWATER AND WHEATLAND. SUSTAINED WINDS BETWEEN 30 TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH PERIODIC GUSTS AROUND 60 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. DO NOT THINK IT WILL BE THIS WINDY ALL THAT TIME...BUT SUDDEN GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR OFF AND ON THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. MODELS SHOW THE NEXT COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH PUSHING ACROSS THE HIGH PLAINS BEGINNING WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DO NOT EXPECT A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FROM THIS SYSTEM DUE TO THE LACK OF MOISTURE. HOWEVER...PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES...AND BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING FURTHER SOUTH ALONG I80. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS APPEAR TO BE IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE AT THIS TIME WITH THE MOUNTAINS RECEIVING 3 TO 6 INCHES. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL PUSH INTO SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND WESTERN NEBRASKA FOR THURSDAY AS HIGHS STRUGGLE TO REACH THE MIDDLE 20S ACROSS MOST OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE MIDDLE 30S ACROSS WESTERN NEBRASKA. THE BEST CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW APPEARS TO BE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING IN ADDITION TO THE HIGH PLAINS. THIS ACTIVITY WILL LINGER INTO THURSDAY NIGHT WITH SNOW BECOMING LIGHT FLURRIES. LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY... COLD NORTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL BE OVER THE REGION ON FRIDAY. WITH 700MB TEMPS AROUND -16C AND ABUNDANT CLOUD COVER...HIGH TEMPS WILL LIKELY STRUGGLE TO GET OUT OF THE UPPER 20S OVER THE PLAINS. THE COMBINATION OF WEAK LLVL UPSLOPE AND DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH A SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS COULD PRODUCE SOME LIGHT SNOW THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. CURRENTLY HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS LOWER ELEVATIONS AND SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN THE MTNS. HEIGHTS RISE QUICKLY BY SATURDAY AS THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE ZONAL IN ADVANCE OF A STRONG SHORTWAVE DIGGING INTO IDAHO. TEMPS ARE 15-20 DEGREES WARMER ON SATURDAY COMPARED TO FRIDAY WITH RISING LLVL THICKNESSES AND DEVELOPING WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE SFC WINDS. COULD SEE A HIGH WIND EVENT FOR THE WIND PRONE AREAS ON SATURDAY NIGHT AS THE GFS SHOWS 700MB WINDS AT 45-55 KTS ALONG WITH A STRENGTHENING LLVL GRADIENT OVER SOUTHEAST WY. THE WARMER TEMPS ARE SHORT LIVED HOWEVER...AS THE TROUGH AXIS IS OVER WY BY LATE SUNDAY. THE GFS AND ECMWF BOTH SHOW POTENTIAL LIGHT SNOW ON MONDAY...WITH AMOUNTS LIMITED BY THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF THE SYSTEM. WE ARE BACK TO BELOW NORMAL TEMPS ON MONDAY BEHIND THE SUNDAY NIGHT FROPA. AVIATION...18Z TAF ISSUANCE... VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. A LAYER OF MIDLEVEL CLOUDS WITH BASES AROUND 10KFT AGL WILL MOVE OVER THE REGION FROM 00-12Z WED. WEST WINDS WILL BECOME BREEZY BY LATE MORNING WED...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST WY. FIRE WEATHER...NO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS THROUGH THE WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND WITH A SOLID SNOW PACK ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA ALONG WITH COOL TEMPERATURES AND A CHANCE OF SNOW ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM WEDNESDAY FOR WYZ106-WYZ110. NE...NONE. && UPDATE...LIEBL SHORT TERM/FIRE WEATHER...TJT LONG TERM...FINCH AVIATION...LIEBL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 1127 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013 WYZ101>119-132315- CONVERSE COUNTY LOWER ELEVATIONS-NIOBRARA COUNTY- NORTH LARAMIE RANGE-FERRIS/SEMINOE/SHIRLEY MOUNTAINS- SHIRLEY BASIN-CENTRAL LARAMIE RANGE AND SOUTHWEST PLATTE COUNTY- EAST PLATTE COUNTY-GOSHEN COUNTY-CENTRAL CARBON COUNTY- NORTH SNOWY RANGE FOOTHILLS-SOUTHWEST CARBON COUNTY- SIERRA MADRE RANGE-UPPER NORTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN-SNOWY RANGE- LARAMIE VALLEY-SOUTH LARAMIE RANGE-SOUTH LARAMIE RANGE FOOTHILLS- CENTRAL LARAMIE COUNTY-EAST LARAMIE COUNTY- 1127 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WESTERLY WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG THE REST OF TONIGHT IN THE WIND PRONE AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE. THESE AREAS INCLUDE INTERSTATE 80 NEAR ARLINGTON AND INTERSTATE 25 FROM CHUGWATER TO BORDEAUX. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE IN THIS AREA...AND A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY STRONG WESTERLY WINDS GUSTING AS HIGH AS 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON IN THE WIND PRONE AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE. IN ADDITION...LIGHT SNOW WILL SPREAD ACROSS SOUTHEAST WYOMING LATE WEDNESDAY WITH PERIODS OF SNOW LINGERING THROUGH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGIC...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/CHEYENNE NEZ002-003-019>021-054-055-095-096-132315- DAWES-BOX BUTTE-SCOTTS BLUFF-BANNER-MORRILL-KIMBALL-CHEYENNE- NORTH SIOUX-SOUTH SIOUX- 1127 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGIC...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/CHEYENNE WEILAND
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 853 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013 WYZ110-130600- NORTH SNOWY RANGE FOOTHILLS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ARLINGTON...ELK MOUNTAIN 853 PM MST TUE FEB 12 2013 SUSTAINED WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL GUST BETWEEN 45 AND 55 MPH ACROSS THE NORTH SNOWY RANGE FOOTHILLS THIS EVENING. AREAS AFFECTED WILL INCLUDE ARLINGTON...ELK MOUNTAIN...AND WAGONHOUND. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA FROM 11 PM MST THIS EVENING THROUGH 6 PM MST WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AS WINDS WILL INCREASE TO NEAR 45 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 60 MPH. THE WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ADVISES NO LIGHT TRAILER TRAFFIC ALONG INTERSTATE 80 BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 235 AND 279 DUE TO WIND SPEEDS ABOVE 50 MPH. THESE WINDS MAY CAUSE LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL OR A BLOW OVER TO HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES TRAVELING EMPTY OR WITH A LIGHT LOAD. DRIVERS OF SUCH VEHICLES ARE ADVISED TO DELAY TRAVEL. LIEBL
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
1216 AM MST WED FEB 13 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1201 AM NON-TSTM WND GST ARLINGTON 41.59N 106.21W
02/13/2013 M52 MPH CARBON WY DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
WINDS WERE SUSTAINED AT 42 MPH.
&&
MWEILANDPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
114 AM MST WED FEB 13 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1255 AM NON-TSTM WND GST ARLINGTON 41.59N 106.21W
02/13/2013 M57 MPH CARBON WY DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
WINDS WERE SUSTAINED AT 42 MPH.
&&
MWEILANDThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The WYDOT sensor at Arlington measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 65 mph at 13/0451 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Foote Creek measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/0231 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Mile Marker 249.1 measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Arlington East measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/0311 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Halleck Ridge measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/0456 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Buford East measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 58 mph at 13/0421 MST.
The UPR sensor at Emkay measured gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 80 mph at 13/0845 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Wagonhound measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 60 mph at 13/0505 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Bordeaux measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/0510 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Cooper Cove measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 66 mph at 13/0750 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Bordeaux measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 65 mph at 13/0800 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Strouss Hill measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 62 mph at 13/0706 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Wagonhound measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/0750 MST.
The UPR sensor at Lynch measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 63 mph at 13/1015 MST.
The UPR sensor at DALESW measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/1045 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Otto measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 13/1045 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Mile Marker 353 measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Whitaker measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Halleck Ridge measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Arlington measured wind gusts of 58 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, February 2013
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: 424899, 424903, 424906, 424898, 424904, 425059, 425062, 424908, 424895, 424901, 424896, 424907, 424909, 425061, 425060, 425064, 425063, 425065, 424905, 424900.