A strong cold front swept south through northern Johnson County shortly after 1700MST. The passage of the front brought high winds from the northwest to several locations along Interstate 90 during an approximate three-hour period.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 RIW wrote it up.
A strong cold front swept south through northern Johnson County shortly after 1700MST. The passage of the front brought high winds from the northwest to several locations along Interstate 90 during an approximate three-hour period. Peak wind gusts topped out between 60 and 71 mph. The highest gust of 71 mph was recorded along the interstate north of Buffalo at 1706MST. Other measured gusts included 66 mph at the Buffalo Airport ASOS and 62 mph at an automated site along the interstate east of Buffalo.
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, 2:09 PM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 209 PM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MULTI-FACETED STORM SYSTEM IS PUSHING ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WITH A WIDE ASSORTMENT OF WEATHER. THE WEST HAS SEEN WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL WITH A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW IN THE WESTERN VALLEYS. A SWATH OF SNOW OR A RAIN AND SNOW MIXED IS PUSHING ACROSS THE I80 CORRIDOR. PLENTY OF WIND AHEAD OF OUR COLD FRONT PUSHING INTO THE FAR NORTHWEST WITH 25 TO 40 MPH WINDS COMMON. THE CODY FOOTHILLS HAVE SEEN GUSTS OF 45 TO 55 MPH WITH A COUPLE GUSTS OVER 60 MPH AT THE CLARK WEST SENSOR. COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH INTO AND THROUGH MUCH OF THE AREA TONIGHT AS THE UPPER LOW NEAR THE NRN MT BORDER TRACKS ESE ACROSS MT OVERNIGHT. STRONG WIND POTENTIAL WILL CONTINUE IN THE NRN MOUNTAINS AND SOUTH AS A COUPLE JET STREAKS PUSH EAST ACROSS THE AREA. SOME THREAT OF HIGH WINDS FOR JUST A LITTLE LONGER ALONG THE CODY FOOTHILLS AND THEN LATER TONIGHT ALONG THE EAST SLOPE OF THE BIGHORNS. EVENING SHIFT WILL HAVE TO WATCH THIS AREA AND WILL HANDLE WITH AN SPS FOR NOW FOR BOTH SNOW AND WIND. THE BUFFALO ZONE WILL GET A QUICK SHOT OF WIND AND SNOW THIS EVENING AND THEN A BETTER SHOT OF BOTH ON MONDAY. SNOW AMOUNTS LOOK TO BE ONLY AN INCH OR TWO AT MOST BUT NORTH WINDS WILL PROBABLY BLOW 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH. QUICK SHOT OF SNOW EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTH WITH FROPA THIS EVENING AND THEN A QUICK SHOT IN THE CENTRAL ZONES QUITE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY EAST HALF. BRIEF SHORTWAVE RIDGE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE NEXT TROUGH MOVES TOWARDS THE WEST ON WEDNESDAY WITH SNOW LIKELY. WARMING ENOUGH IN THE VALLEYS THAT IT MAY ONCE AGAIN BE A MIXTURE. BASINS AND VALLEYS WILL BE SOMEWHAT TRAPPED UNDER AN INVERSION TUESDAY BUT WILL PROBABLY MIX WEDNESDAY...ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE DIVIDE AS WINDS PICK UP. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NOT A LOT OF CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE LONG RANGE FORECAST TODAY. SOME PRECIPITATION IS ASSOCIATION WITH THE DEVELOPING TROUGH WILL CONTINUE ACROSS WESTERN PORTIONS OF WYOMING AS SHOWN ON BOTH THE GFS AND EUROPEAN. THE GFS IS A BIT MORE BULLISH ON PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS THAN THE ECMWF SO FOR NOW WE DECIDED TO BLEND THE MODELS WITH CONTINUITY FOR QPF. HOWEVER...BOTH MODELS SHOW THE BULK OF THE ENERGY MOVING GOING NORTHWARD INTO MONTANA BY THURSDAY MORNING SO HEAVY AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. MEANWHILE...EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS WITH DOWNSLOPING WESTERLY FLOW WE ANTICIPATE ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR MOST AREAS. WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S MANY OF THOSE SHOWERS COULD FALL IN THE FORM OF RAIN RATHER THAN SNOW. NO REAL CHANGES TO THURSDAY NIGHT OR FRIDAY EITHER AS THE MODELS CONTINUE TO HAVE A BOUNDARY ACROSS THE AREA SO WE MAINTAINED THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR THAT TIME PERIOD AS WELL. .AVIATION.../00Z ISSUANCE/ WEST OF THE DIVIDE...MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE AND TAPER OFF TONIGHT. THE FAR WEST VALLEYS WILL SEE A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW WHICH WILL TAPER OFF THIS EVENING. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS WILL BE PREVALENT WITH PERIODS OF MVFR CONDITIONS AT THE TERMINALS. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY BUT THERE WILL BE SOME MOUNTAIN PEAK OBSCURATIONS WITH SOME FLURRIES OR LIGHT MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS. EAST OF THE DIVIDE...AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT AND WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING WIDESPREAD SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE BIG HORN MOUNTAINS THROUGH MONDAY WITH MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS CONTINUING. A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW OR RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW WILL END OR DECREASE ACROSS SWEETWATER COUNTY THIS EVENING. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING SOME LLWS ACROSS KCOD AND KLND TODAY AS WELL. SOME RAIN SHOWERS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE BIGHORN BASIN THROUGH THIS EVENING. STRONG WEST WIND CONTINUE ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT WHICH WILL TURN WINDS TO THE NORTH. RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED SPREAD SOUTH ACROSS THE REST OF THE BIG HORN BASIN DURING THE REST OF THE EVENING AND THEN SOUTH INTO FREMONT AND NATRONA LATER TONIGHT. MVFR CONDITIONS WILL BE NOTED AROUND THIS RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WITH LOCALIZED IFR CONDITIONS DURING HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF JOHNSON COUNTY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY. .FIRE WEATHER... COLD FRONT WILL MOVES SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT WITH SNOW ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF THE NORTHWEST AND NORTH AND A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW...CHANGING TO SNOW ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTH THIS EVENING AND THEN SCATTERED AREAS OF SNOW SPREADING INTO THE CENTRAL ZONES AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH ACROSS THE FAR SOUTH AFTER DARK. STRONG WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE AHEAD OF THE FRONT WITH GUSTY NORTH WINDS BEHIND IT. VERY STRONG NORTH WINDS WILL BLOW ACROSS THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS AND JOHNSON COUNTY TONIGHT BUT EVEN MORE SO ON MONDAY ALONG WITH ACCUMULATING SNOW. A BRIEF RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FOR TUESDAY BEFORE ANOTHER SYSTEM BRINGS SNOW TO THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS ON WEDNESDAY WITH A RAIN/SNOW MIXTURE IN THE FAR WEST VALLEYS. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING WYZ012. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 8 AM MST MONDAY WYZ001. && SHORT TERM...SKRBAC LONG TERM...HATTINGS AVIATION...SKRBAC FIRE WEATHER...SKRBAC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 400 AM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 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 SUN MAR 3 2013 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE TETON RANGE UNTIL 11 PM TONIGHT AND FOR YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK UNTIL 8 AM MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE TETON RANGE AND YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK TODAY...THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED THIS MORNING. PLEASE SEE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY PRODUCTS FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY MONDAY...A CANADIAN COLD FRONT WILL BRING AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW AND STRENGTHENING NORTHWEST WINDS ACROSS THE BIGHORN RANGE AND NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY LATE MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON. SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT...AN INCH OR LESS ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 90...BUT WIND GUSTS OVER 50 MPH ARE LIKELY ALONG WITH BLOWING SNOW AND LIMITED VISIBILITY AT TIMES. WEST TO NORTHWEST WIND OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 40 MPH WILL OCCUR OVER MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN WYOMING MONDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... PLEASE REPORT SNOW AMOUNTS OR ANY WIND GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. TEAM RIVERTON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 107 PM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 WYZ003-032200- CODY FOOTHILLS- 107 PM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 ERRATIC GENERALLY WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE CODY FOOTHILLS THROUGH MID AFTERNOON BEFORE DECREASING AND SHIFTING TO THE NORTH WITH A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE. UNTIL 3 PM OR SO...EXPECT OCCASIONAL WEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 45 TO 55 MPH. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE NEAR CLARK WHERE GUSTS COULD BRIEFLY TOP 60 MPH. TRAVELLERS ON HIGHWAY 120 BETWEEN CODY AND CLARK SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR SUDDEN...SHARP CROSSWINDS. SKRBAC
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 230 PM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 WYZ008-009-040400- BIGHORN MOUNTAINS SOUTHEAST-BIGHORN MOUNTAINS WEST- 230 PM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 OCCASIONAL SNOW AND INCREASING WEST TO NORTHWEST WIND WILL IMPACT THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS THROUGH MONDAY. TWO PERIODS OF MODERATE TO BRIEFLY HEAVY SNOW WILL HIT THE AREA THIS EVENING AND AGAIN MONDAY MORNING. THE WEST TONIGHT WILL INCREASE TO 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 60 TO 70 MPH AT PASS LEVEL AND ALONG THE EAST SLOPE FOOTHILLS... ESPECIALLY AFTER MIDNIGHT UNTIL AROUND SUNRISE. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF WILL BLOW ON MONDAY BUT NOT QUITE AS STRONG AS TONIGHT'S. THE WIND WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW TONIGHT WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS TO 5 INCHES IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE RANGE ON NORTHWEST FACING SLOPES. ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW MONDAY MAY LEAVE ANOTHER 3 TO 6 INCHES WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 10 INCHES ON NORTHWEST FACING SLOPES IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE RANGE. TRAVEL OVER POWDER RIVER AND ESPECIALLY GRANITE PASS WILL LIKELY BE HAMPERED AT TIMES DUE TO THE OCCASIONAL SNOW AND STRONG WIND. WYZ010-040400- NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY- 230 PM MST SUN MAR 3 2013 A QUICK SHOT OF RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW AND STRONG NORTH WIND TO 45 MPH WILL LIKELY IMPACT NORTHERN JOHNSON COUNTY THIS EVENING. A STRONGER PERIOD OF NORTH WIND WITH SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW IS EXPECTED ON MONDAY. THIS SHOT OF SNOW MAY PRODUCE A 1 TO 2 INCHES BUT BE ACCOMPANIED BY A NORTH WIND OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAUSING BRIEF PERIODS OF WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. PERSONS PLANNING TRAVEL ACROSS JOHNSON COUNTY TONIGHT OR MONDAY SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY TRAVELLERS ON INTERSTATE 90. SKRBAC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Piney Creek WYDOT sensor hit 71 mph, while the Buffalo Airport ASOS reported a wind gusts to 66 mph. WYDOT Indian Creek sensor was sustained at 40mph+ until 2020MST.
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: 431239.