A arctic air mass produced frigid temperatures, with nighttime lows from -20 to -30 degrees. Combined with wind speeds of 10 to 25 mph, equivalent wind chill temperatures of -25 to -45 degrees were observed.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 arctic air mass produced frigid temperatures, with nighttime lows from -20 to -30 degrees. Combined with wind speeds of 10 to 25 mph, equivalent wind chill temperatures of -25 to -45 degrees were observed.
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 Dec 29, 5:36 PM MST, 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
536 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
.UPDATE...
ISSUED AT 536 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
LET THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW EXPIRE AT 5 PM AS
VISIBILITIES ACROSS THIS AREA HAVE BEEN ON THE GENERAL TREND
UPWARD THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. WILL SEE LIGHT SNOW CONTINUE THROUGH
THE EVENING...BUT NOT EXPECTING MUCH ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION WITH
THE VERY COLD TEMPS IN PLACE AND SNOWFALL RATES REMAINING ON THE
LIGHTER SIDE.
&&
.SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY)
ISSUED AT 315 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
ARCTIC OUTBREAK AND THE ONGOING LIGHT SNOW EVENT CONSUMED MUCH OF
THE SHORT TERM FOCUS TODAY. LIGHT SNOW HAS CONTINUED TO FALL ACROSS
SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE TODAY WITH
VISIBILITIES BOUNCING GENERALLY BETWEEN 1-3SM. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THUS
FAR FOR THE MOST PART BEEN IN THE 2-4 INCH RANGE WITH LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS SOUTHWEST OF WHEATLAND AND IN THE VICINITY OF SCOTTSBLUFF.
VISIBILITIES HAVE IMPROVED THIS AFTERNOON AT KRWL-KDGW-KLSK-
KCDR...SO IN AN EARLIER UPDATE FELT COMFORTABLE TO CANCEL THE
WARNING THERE. VISIBILITIES CONTINUE TO BE CLOSER TO 1SM FROM
WHEATLAND TO SCOTTSBLUFF SO WILL LEAVE THE ADVISORY CONTINUE UNTIL 5
PM. LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT...BUT BEST LIFT WILL SHIFT
SOUTH IN CLOSER PROXIMITY OF A NORTHWARD MOVING JET. THESE AREAS
HAVENT SEEN LESS THAN ONE HALF INCH OF SNOW THUS FAR TODAY...AND
WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO A COUPLE OF INCHES...DONT FORESEE THE
NEED OF AN ADVISORY. LIGHT SNOW WILL FALL ELSEWHERE TOO...BUT SHOULD
BE LESS THAN AN INCH. THE VERY LIGHT SNOW WILL LINGER INTO TUESDAY
MORNING...DISSIPATING AROUND MIDDAY TUESDAY.
THE MORE SIGNIFICANT STORY FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS WILL BE THE ARCTIC
TEMPERATURES. CURRENT TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS OVR THE
ENTIRE AREA AND HAVE STEADILY FELL THRU THE DAY. MOST AREAS WILL
FALL IN THE TEENS BELOW ZERO TONIGHT WITH AREAS ALONG THE LARAMIE
DRAINAGE FALLING INTO THE -20S TO NR -30F. FRESH SNOWPACK AND LIGHT
WINDS BELOW A 1050MB HIGH WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO FOR
HIGHS ON TUESDAY. TUESDAY NIGHT WILL BE THE COLDEST WITH TEMPS
FALLING INTO 20S BELOW ZERO EVERYWHERE WITH THE LARAMIE RIVER
DRAINAGE AGAIN EXPERIENCING -30F. THIS WILL LIKELY BREAK SOME LOW
TEMPERATURE RECORDS. WIND CHILLS WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ARE IN
PLACE TONIGHT AND WILL NEED TO BE EXTENDED INTO TUESDAY NIGHT AS
WELL.
WEDNESDAY WILL BE DRY AS THE AREA IS CAUGHT BETWEEN THE NRN STREAM
OVR THE NRN PLAINS AND THE CUT-OFF OVR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA/SRN
NEVADA. HIGHS WILL MODERATE SOME TOO...WITH HIGH REACHING THE 20S
EAST OF THE PLAINS AND AROUND 10 FROM RAWLINS TO LARAMIE.
.LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY)
ISSUED AT 315 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
A QUIETER WEATHER PATTERN EXPECTED OVERALL FOR THE CWA THIS PERIOD
AS THE UPPER FLOW TURNS MORE NORTHWESTERLY AND COLDER AIR GETS
SHUNTED TO THE EAST. WILL HAVE TO KEEP SOME ATTENTION ON AN UPPER
LOW THAT WILL MOVE EASTWARD FROM THE DESERT SW ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
ROCKY MTNS LATE IN THE WEEK. RIGHT NOW ITS EFFECTS SHOULD STAY
SOUTH OF THE CWA THOUGH A FEW MTN SNOW SHOWERS COULD OCCUR OVER
THE HIGHER MTNS. TEMPS WILL MODERATE SOME THURSDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY BEFORE NEXT SURGE OF COLD CANADIAN AIR DROPS SOUTH INTO
THE PLAINS SAT NIGHT. BULK OF THIS COLD AIR LOOKS TO PASS EAST OF
THE CWA BUT A BACKDOOR FRONT SHOULD BANK UP AGAINST THE MTNS
RESULTING IN COOLER CONDITIONS OVER THE PLAINS SUNDAY. FRONT
SHOULD WASH BACK EAST LATE SUNDAY WITH MILDER TEMPS RETURNING FOR
MONDAY.
&&
.AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY EVENING)
ISSUED AT 315 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
WIDESPREAD MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST INTO THIS EVENING EAST
OF THE MTNS WITH LIGHT SNOW IN MODEST UPSLOPE FLOW. SHOULD SEE
SLOW IMPROVEMENT IN VSBYS AND CIGS OVERNIGHT AS COLDER AND DRIER
AIR BUILDS IN AND UPSLOPE FLOW WEAKENS THOUGH SOME MVFR CIGS MAY
HANG ON INTO TUESDAY MORNING.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
ISSUED AT 315 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES AND PERIODS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED EARLY THIS
WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL WITH A DECENT SNOWPACK
THROUGH THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES MAY INCREASE TO NEAR NORMAL LATER IN
THE WEEK...BUT HUMIDITIES WILL REMAIN ABOVE 50 PERCENT DURING THE
DAY.
&&
.CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WY...WIND CHILL ADVISORY UNTIL NOON MST TUESDAY FOR WYZ102-107-108-
117>119.
WIND CHILL WARNING UNTIL NOON MST TUESDAY FOR WYZ101-103>106-
109>116.
NE...WIND CHILL ADVISORY UNTIL NOON MST TUESDAY FOR NEZ002-003-
019>021-054-055-095-096.
&&
UPDATE...RJM
SHORT TERM...CAH
LONG TERM...RE
AVIATION...RE
FIRE WEATHER...TJT/CAHHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 547 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014 WYZ101>119-310100- 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- 547 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL WYOMING...SOUTH CENTRAL WYOMING AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHEAST WYOMING TONIGHT WITH GENERALLY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN AN INCH EXPECTED FOR THE AREA BY MORNING. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL BELOW ZERO OVERNIGHT CAUSING WIND CHILLS TO PLUMMET TO -20F TO -40F. WIND CHILL WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN POSTED ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING FOR TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES AND LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY...WITH SOME OF THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS WINTER POSSIBLE BY LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NEZ002-003-019>021-054-055-095-096-310100- DAWES-BOX BUTTE-SCOTTS BLUFF-BANNER-MORRILL-KIMBALL-CHEYENNE- NORTH SIOUX-SOUTH SIOUX- 547 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE TONIGHT WITH GENERALLY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN AN INCH EXPECTED FOR THE AREA BY MORNING. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO FALL BELOW ZERO OVERNIGHT CAUSING WIND CHILLS TO PLUMMET TO -20F TO -30F. WIND CHILL ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN POSTED ACROSS THE THE ENTIRE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE FOR TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES AND LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY...WITH SOME OF THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS WINTER POSSIBLE BY LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
1211 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1210 PM SNOW 4 N WHEATLAND 42.11N 104.96W
12/29/2014 E3.0 INCH PLATTE WY CO-OP OBSERVER
&&
BCHAPMANPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
231 PM MST MON DEC 29 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0227 PM SNOW TORRINGTON 42.07N 104.18W
12/29/2014 M4.0 INCH GOSHEN WY LAW ENFORCEMENT
0227 PM SNOW HARRISBURG 41.55N 103.74W
12/29/2014 M3.0 INCH BANNER NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0227 PM SNOW BRIDGEPORT 41.67N 103.10W
12/29/2014 E1.0 INCH MORRILL NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0227 PM SNOW KIMBALL 41.23N 103.66W
12/29/2014 M0.5 INCH KIMBALL NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0227 PM SNOW ALLIANCE 42.10N 102.87W
12/29/2014 E1.0 INCH BOX BUTTE NE LAW ENFORCEMENT
0227 PM HEAVY SNOW SCOTTSBLUFF 41.87N 103.66W
12/29/2014 M6.0 INCH SCOTTS BLUFF NE BROADCAST MEDIA
&&
HAHNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Minimum temperatures ranged from -25 to -30 degrees. Combined wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph produced wind chill temperatures from -30 to -45 degrees.
Minimum temperatures ranged from -20 to -25 degrees. Combined wind speeds of 15 to 25 mph produced wind chill temperatures from -30 to -40 degrees.
Minimum temperatures ranged from -25 to -30 degrees. Combined wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph produced wind chill temperatures from -30 to -45 degrees.
Minimum temperatures ranged from -20 to -25 degrees. Combined wind speeds of 15 to 25 mph produced wind chill temperatures from -30 to -40 degrees.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2014
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: 550013, 550014, 550015, 550016.