Strong westerly winds developed over the southern Laramie Range during the morning and early afternoon.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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.
Strong westerly winds developed over the southern Laramie Range during the morning and early afternoon.
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 Mar 15, 4:29 AM MST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 529 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 .AVIATION...12Z TAFS. PERIODS OF SCATTERED TO BROKEN CLOUDS AT OR ABOVE 5000 FEET AGL. AFTER 15Z...WINDS GUSTING TO 29 TO 32 KNOTS... WITH WINDS DECREASING AFTER 01Z. RUBIN && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 320 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY... WATER VAPOR SATELLITE AND RUC UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWED A RIDGE AXIS FROM THE DESERT SOUTHWEST TO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. ABUNDANT UPPER LEVEL PACIFIC MOISTURE WAS STREAMING EASTWARD OVER THE REGION. INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATED CLOUD CEILINGS ABOVE 12000 FT AGL. A STATIONARY FRONT WAS LOCATED FROM CENTRAL MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA...WITH A WEAK TROUGH FROM WESTERN NEBRASKA TO NORTHWEST KANSAS. A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDED FROM WESTERN WYOMING TO THE FOUR CORNERS REGION. WEST TO NORTHWEST 700MB WINDS 30 TO 40 KT AND 850-700MB GRADIENT WERE GENERATING GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS ACROSS THE WIND PRONE AREAS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH WERE REPORTED AT ARLINGTON. TEMPERATURES RANGED FROM THE UPPER 30S TO LOWER 50S. FORECAST CHALLENGES DURING THE SHORT TERM INCLUDE NEAR RECORD WARMTH TODAY FOR THE PLAINS...PRECIPITATION CHANCES THIS WEEKEND... AND POTENTIAL FOR HIGH WINDS ON SUNDAY. THE 00Z MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE OVERALL LARGE SCALE PATTERN. THE UPPER RIDGE FLATTENS WITH ZONAL FLOW ALOFT ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. SHORTWAVE ENERGY MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS MONTANA AND THE DAKOTAS AND SURFACE RIDGING TO THE NORTHEAST WILL PUSH A BACKDOOR FRONT INTO EASTERN WYOMING AND NORTHEAST COLORADO TONIGHT. BEFORE THE FRONT ARRIVES... IT WILL BE ANOTHER WARM AFTERNOON FOR THE PLAINS AS 700MB TEMPERATURES RISE TO NEAR 3C. HIGHS TODAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY WITH 60S TO MID 70S. HERE ARE THE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR MARCH 15... CHEYENNE...67 (1877) RAWLINS...60 (2012) TORRINGTON...73 (2012) ALLIANCE...74 (1999) SCOTTSBLUFF...75 (2012) SIDNEY...75 (1999) LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOP TONIGHT AND CONTINUE SATURDAY IN WEAK POST FRONTAL UPSLOPE FLOW. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS WILL BE AROUND AN INCH. IT WILL BE NOTICEABLY COOLER SATURDAY WITH 700MB TEMPERATURES AROUND -5C. EXPECT HIGHS IN THE 40S AND 50S. PRECIPITATION DECREASES IN AREAL COVERAGE SATURDAY NIGHT WITH THE DEPARTURE OF THE UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE. THE FRONT BECOMES REORIENTED ALONG THE FRONT RANGE SATURDAY NIGHT. THE LOW LEVEL PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS SATURDAY NIGHT IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT PACIFIC SHORTWAVE TROUGH. THIS SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS WYOMING SUNDAY. AHEAD OF THE SHORTWAVE...RAPID CYCLOGENESIS WILL OCCUR ALONG A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY SITUATED ALONG THE FRONT RANGE. THIS WILL STRENGTHEN THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ALONG THE LARAMIE RANGE...INCREASING WESTERLY WINDS ACROSS SOUTHEAST WYOMING. DEEP LAYER UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW WITH LOW LEVEL WINDS OF 45 TO 55 KT COMBINED WITH THE PASSING SHORTWAVE TROUGH SHOULD TRANSPORT THE STRONG WINDS TO THE SURFACE ACROSS SOUTHEAST WYOMING. LARGE PRESSURE RISES SPREAD FROM SOUTHEAST WYOMING INTO THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE BY SUNDAY EVENING. CONFIDENCE IS INCREASING FOR THE POTENTIAL OF A BORA WIND EVENT ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY. A COUPLE OF COLD FRONTS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION WITH THIS SYSTEM AS WELL. SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHORTWAVE... WESTERLY UPSLOPE FLOW...AND THE FRONTAL PASSAGES WILL YIELD CHANCES FOR RAIN SHOWERS AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW SHOWERS SUNDAY. DOWNSLOPE WESTERLY FLOW IN THE LOWER LEVELS WILL BRING MILDER TEMPERATURES FOR THE PLAINS SUNDAY...WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES OUT WEST. LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... SUNDAY NIGHT...PROGRESSIVE FAST MOVING SHORTWAVE TROUGH ALOFT MOVES FROM EASTERN WYOMING TO EASTERN NEBRASKA WITH FAST NORTHWEST FLOW IN ITS WAKE. ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVES QUICKLY EASTWARD FROM WESTERN NEBRASKA EARLY IN THE EVENING WITH STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION ACROSS OUR COUNTIES. QUITE WINDY BASED ON PROGGED LOW AND MID LEVEL GRADIENTS...STRONG UNIDIRECTIONAL NORTHWEST WINDS AND STRENGTH OF THICKNESS PACKING AND COLD AIR ADVECTION. DECREASING COVERAGE OF PRECIPITATION OVERNIGHT IN THE WAKE OF THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH ALOFT AND WITH STRONG DOWNSLOPING AND RAIN SHADOWING EFFECT DOWNWIND OF THE LARAMIE RANGE. MONDAY...WINDY AND RAW DAY WITH STRONG NORTHWEST UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW FROM THE SURFACE THROUGH 500 MB AND PROGGED LOW AND MID LEVEL GRADIENTS. COOLER MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES BASED ON PROJECTED THICKNESSES AND 700 MB TEMPERATURES. TUESDAY...ANOTHER WARMING TREND ENSUES AS HEIGHTS ALOFT RISE UNDER ZONAL FLOW ALOFT...AND BASED ON PROJECTED THICKNESS AND 700 MB TEMPERATURE CHANGES. WEDNESDAY...15/00Z ECMWF LOOKS WAY TOO BULLISH WITH QPF BASED ON ITS MESOSCALE AND SYNOPTIC PATTERN BRINGING IN THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH ALOFT ACROSS WESTERN WYOMING. PREFER THE MORE BEARISH QPF DEPICTION FROM THE 15/00Z GFS IN FAST ZONAL FLOW ALOFT...THUS WILL PAINT LOW AFTERNOON POPS ACROSS OUR MOUNTAINS DUE TO OROGRAPHICS...AND DRY ELSEWHERE. THURSDAY...15/00Z ECMWF AND 15/00Z GFS DIFFER SLIGHTLY ON SHORTWAVE TROUGH PROJECTION WITH THE ECMWF MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE TROUGH OVER WYOMING...WHILE THE GFS HANGS BACK THE TROUGH AXIS OVER IDAHO. IN EITHER EVENT HOWEVER...WILL SEE AT LEAST A SCATTERED COVERAGE OF SHOWERS OF RAIN OR SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. AVIATION...06Z TAFS. VFR THROUGH PERIOD. SCATTERED TO BROKEN CLOUDS AT OR ABOVE 8000 FEET AGL. 16Z TO 02Z...WINDS GUSTING 25 TO 32 KT. A WEAK SURFACE COLD FRONT OR PREFRONTAL TROUGH PASSES THE AERODROMES LATE FRIDAY MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON WITH WINDS VEERING TO NORTH AND NORTHWEST. FIRE WEATHER... MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL TODAY WITH MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AROUND 20 PERCENT DURING THE AFTERNOON. A TIGHT SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL YIELD GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS TODAY. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL SINK SOUTH INTO SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE THIS WEEKEND. UPSLOPE FLOW AND MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN INCREASING CHANCES FOR RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS...ALONG WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES. THE BEST CHANCES FOR MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION FOR THE PLAINS WILL BE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...AND ALONG AND WEST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE SUNDAY. WINDS WILL BECOME QUITE STRONG AND GUSTY SUNDAY AS LOW PRESSURE AND A STRONGER COLD FRONT PASS THROUGH THE DISTRICTS. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...NONE. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM/FIRE WEATHER...JAMSKI LONG TERM/AVIATION...RUBIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 442 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 WYZ101>119-161045- 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- 442 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL WYOMING... SOUTH CENTRAL WYOMING AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SUSTAINED WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS AT 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 50 TO 55 MPH WILL OCCUR EARLY THIS MORNING OVER THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE...AND BETWEEN LARAMIE AND RAWLINS. THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 80 AT THE SUMMIT AS WELL AS THROUGH THE ARLINGTON AND ELK MOUNTAIN AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY STRONG WESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING SUNDAY. THESE WINDS MAY PERSIST THROUGH MONDAY MORNING BEHIND A STRONG COLD FRONT. GUSTS AS HIGH AS 65 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE... ESPECIALLY FOR THE WIND PRONE LOCATIONS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGIC...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/CHEYENNE NEZ002-003-019>021-054-055-095-096-161045- DAWES-BOX BUTTE-SCOTTS BLUFF-BANNER-MORRILL-KIMBALL-CHEYENNE- NORTH SIOUX-SOUTH SIOUX- 442 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY STRONG WESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP FOR PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THESE WINDS MAY PERSIST THROUGH MONDAY MORNING BEHIND A STRONG COLD FRONT. GUSTS AS HIGH AS 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGIC...AND CLIMATE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/CHEYENNE JAMSKI
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 424 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 WYZ110-151300- NORTH SNOWY RANGE FOOTHILLS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ARLINGTON...ELK MOUNTAIN 424 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 ...STRONG WINDS WILL IMPACT TRAVEL BETWEEN RAWLINS AND LARAMIE EARLY THIS MORNING... SUSTAINED WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH WILL AFFECT AREAS BETWEEN RAWLINS AND LARAMIE EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 80 THROUGH THE ARLINGTON AND ELK MOUNTAIN AREAS. THE WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ADVISES NO LIGHT TRAILER TRAFFIC ALONG INTERSTATE 80 BETWEEN WALCOTT JUNCTION AND LARAMIE 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. JAMSKI
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
503 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 E ARLINGTON 41.59N 106.17W
03/15/2013 M53 MPH CARBON WY DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
&&
MJAMSKISPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 734 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 WYZ116-151630- SOUTH LARAMIE RANGE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...VEDAUWOO...BUFORD...PUMPKIN VINE 734 AM MDT FRI MAR 15 2013 ...STRONG WINDS POSSIBLE OVER THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE THROUGH THIS MORNING... SUSTAINED WEST-TO-SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH WILL AFFECT THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE THROUGH THIS MORNING. THIS INCLUDES THE INTERSTATE 80 SUMMIT AND VEDAUWOO AREAS. DRIVERS OF LIGHTWEIGHT OR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING THROUGH THESE AREAS. FINCH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The UPR sensor two miles west of Buford measured gusts to 62 mph.
The UPR sensor two miles west of Buford measured a wind gust of 60 mph.
The UPR sensor two miles west of Buford measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 71 mph at 15/1055 MST.
The UPR sensor at DALEWS measured a wind gust of 58 mph.
The WYDOT sensor at Lone Tree measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 64 mph at 15/1041 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Buford East measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 15/1051 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Lone Tree 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, March 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: 430934, 430936, 430937, 430924, 430932, 430928, 430933.