A large pressure gradient with strong westerly winds aloft produced high winds with frequent gusts above 60 mph. Peak wind gusts approached 80 mph over the southern Laramie Range.
Every event with a place to put it; 16 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 pressure gradient with strong westerly winds aloft produced high winds with frequent gusts above 60 mph. Peak wind gusts approached 80 mph over the southern Laramie Range.
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 May 30, 4:34 AM MST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 534 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 352 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED OVER EASTERN MONTANA THIS MORNING WILL BE THE MAIN DRIVER OF WEATHER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION TODAY WILL BE CLOSER TO THE UPPER LEVEL CIRCULATION...THUS VERY SMALL CHANCES FOR MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION IN THE SOUTHERN CWA WITH A DECENT SHOT INTO NORTHERN NIOBRARA AND CONVERSE COUNTIES. ENOUGH COOL AIR ALOFT THAT IT IS HARD TO RULE OUT THUNDERSTORMS COMPLETELY...BUT MAIN PRECIPITATION MODE SHOULD BE SHOWERS. WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN STORY TODAY AND TOMORROW AS GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS FORM IN RESPONSE TO A STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT. A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED TODAY FOR THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS AND THE NORTHERN SNOWY RANGE FOOTHILLS INCLUDING ARLINGTON. GFS AND NAM DIFFER IN THE STRENGTH IN WINDS ALOFT TODAY...BUT EVEN THE WEAKER NAM WOULD SUGGEST MARGINAL WINDS RIGHT AT HIGH WIND CRITERIA WITH 40 KT WINDS JUST OFF THE SURFACE. GFS IS 5 TO 10 KTS STRONGER. ALTHOUGH NOT A CLASSIC SYNOPTIC SETUP FOR A HIGH WINDS...A RELATIVELY STRONG GRADIENT ALONG WITH STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES WILL ALLOW STRONGER WINDS ALOFT TO MIX TO THE SURFACE. SHOULD SEE WIND INCREASE QUICKLY AFTER SUNRISE THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON BEFORE SUBSIDING SOMEWHAT. WINDS WILL REMAIN ON THE HIGH SIDE FRIDAY. COULD BE CLOSE TO HIGH WIND CRITERIA AGAIN IN TYPICAL WIND PRONE AREAS AND IN THE NORTHERN CWA. WINDS WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE FRIDAY. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE FOUND ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE UPPER LOW WHICH WILL BE PUSHING EAST ACROSS THE DAKOTAS. 45 TO 55 KTS WINDS ARE EXPECTED NEAR 750 MB OVER THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE...AND ALTHOUGH IT WILL BE CLOUDY FRIDAY...SOME OF THESE STRONGER WINDS MAY REACH THE SURFACE. WINDS WILL DECREASE ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA SATURDAY AS THE GRADIENT RELAXES ALTHOUGH IT COULD BE CLOSE TO WIND ADVISORY AGAIN FOR THE PANHANDLE. A FEW LIGHT RAIN SHOWER NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION NORTH AND EAST SATURDAY...BUT MAINLY LOOKING AT DRY WEATHER CONDITIONS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY. .LONG TERM...(SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 352 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 WARM UP BEGINS ON SUNDAY AS ZONAL FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS AHEAD OF A STRONG SHORTWAVE MOVING OVER WESTERN MONTANA. 700MB TEMPS RISE AROUND 8C FROM SATURDAY...WHICH WILL TRANSLATE INTO WIDESPREAD MID-TO-UPPER 70S ACROSS LOWER ELEVATIONS. EVEN WARMER ON MONDAY WITH STRENGTHENING WESTERLY BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST WY AND 700MB TEMPS UP TO 13C. WITH WARM MIDLEVEL TEMPS AND LIMITED LLVL MOISTURE OVER THE CWA...WILL BE TOUGH TO GET MUCH MORE THAN CUMULUS DURING THE AFTN. THE REAL MODEL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOW UP ON MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. THE ECMWF IS MUCH DRIER FOLLOWING THE FROPA ON MONDAY NIGHT...OWING TO A MORE PROGRESSIVE SHORTWAVE. THE GFS DROPS ADDITIONAL ENERGY OVER WESTERN WY ON TUESDAY AND THIS RESULTS IN DEEP LARGE SCALE LIFT AND BETTER UPSLOPE AT THE SFC. WILL ONLY SHOW SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE GRIDS RIGHT NOW...HOWEVER SHOULD THE ECMWF TREND TOWARD THE GFS THEN POPS WOULD HAVE TO BE RAISED SOME. THE POST FRONTAL AIRMASS IS STABLE ON WEDNESDAY BEHIND THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WITH TEMPS COOLING TO BELOW NORMAL. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 529 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN AVIATION CONCERN FROM MID-MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. STILL EXPECTING WIND GUSTS TO 40-45 KTS ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST WY WITH GUSTS TO 30-35 KTS IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE. CLOUD COVER SHOULD BE LIMITED TO SCATTERED CUMULUS IN THE AFTERNOON...EXCEPT AT KCDR WHERE VFR CIGS WILL BE POSSIBLE. AS LOW LEVEL MIXING DECREASES AFTER SUNSET...WINDS WILL DECREASE SOME. && .FIRE WEATHER... ISSUED AT 352 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER STORY OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED OVER EASTERN MONTANA WILL DRIVE STRONG WINDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA TODAY AND FRIDAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS TODAY WILL FROM AROUND RAWLINS EASTWARD TO AROUND CHEYENNE WITH SUSTAINED WIND 35 TO 45 MPH AND GUSTS 50 TO 60 MPH. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE SUSTAINED AT 20 TO 30 MPH OVER THE REST OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE. 30 TO 40 MPH WINDS WILL BE COMMON ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY. A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AND FRIDAY... MAINLY OVER NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH THE MAIN THREAT FOR MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. DRIER WIND LESS WIND SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY WITH A WARMING TREND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR WYZ110-116-117. NE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...LIEBL LONG TERM...FINCH AVIATION...FINCH FIRE WEATHER...LIEBL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 522 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 WYZ101>119-311130- 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- 522 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL WYOMING... SOUTH CENTRAL WYOMING AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG WESTERLY WINDS WILL BE FOUND OVER SOUTHEAST WYOMING TODAY. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE FOUND ALONG THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE AND INTO THE NORTH SNOWY RANGE FOOTHILLS WHERE A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY. THIS INCLUDES PORTIONS OF INTERSTATE 80 BETWEEN RAWLINGS AND CHEYENNE. A FEW SHOWERS AND WEAK THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON. THERE IS NO EXPECTATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY STRONG GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE FOUND OVER SOUTHEAST WYOMING ONCE AGAIN FRIDAY. .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>021-054-055-095-096-311130- DAWES-BOX BUTTE-SCOTTS BLUFF-BANNER-MORRILL-KIMBALL-CHEYENNE- NORTH SIOUX-SOUTH SIOUX- 522 AM MDT THU MAY 30 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW SHOWERS AND WEAK THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON. THERE IS NO EXPECTATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH. SLIGHTLY STRONGER WINDS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE PINE RIDGE. .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 LIEBL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
16 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The WYDOT sensor at Otto measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 64 mph at 30/0835 MST.
The UPR sensor at Emkay measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 78 mph at 30/0830 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Bordeaux measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 59 mph at 30/0850 MST.
The UPR sensor at Buford measured wind gusts of 58 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 71 mph at 30/1030 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at MP 353 measured wind gusts of 58 mph.
The WYDOT sensor at Lone Tree measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 63 mph at 30/1336 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Arlington measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 63 mph at 30/1316 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Vedauwoo measured wind gusts of 60 mph.
The WYDOT sensor at Wagonhound measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 59 mph at 30/1345 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Arlington East measured wind gusts of 59 mph.
The WYDOT sensor at Arlington East measured wind gusts of 58 mph.
The WYDOT sensor at Foote Creek measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Cooper Cove measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 61 mph at 30/1445 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Halleck Ridge measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher, with a peak gust of 63 mph at 30/1626 MST.
The WYDOT sensor at Strouss Hill measured wind gusts of 63 mph.
The WYDOT sensor at Strouss Hill measured wind gusts of 60 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, May 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: 443699, 443697, 443684, 443694, 443698, 443695, 443687, 443696, 443693, 443685, 443686, 443689, 443688, 443690, 443691, 443692.