A tight surface pressure gradient caused a brief period of high winds across the gap areas of the north Snowy Range foothills and central Laramie Range.
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The episode as NWS CYS wrote it up.
A tight surface pressure gradient caused a brief period of high winds across the gap areas of the north Snowy Range foothills and central 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 Jan 7, 10:57 PM MST, 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 1057 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 859 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 FORECAST PRETTY WELL ON TRACK FOR TONIGHT. WESTERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THIS EVENING AND INTO LATER TONIGHT AHEAD OF A SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY CROSSING OUT OF CANADA AND INTO NORTHEAST MONTANTA. STRONG WESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP AROUND BORDEAUX AND ARLINGTON. SOMEWHAT CONCERNED ABOUT THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE AND FOOTHILLS. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOWING 55 KT WINDS ONLY A FEW HUNDRED FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL LATE TONIGHT. WILL TAKE A CLOSER LOOK... BUT MAY NEED TO EXPAND THE HIGH WIND WARNING FROM ARLINGTON AND BORDEAUX AREAS INTO THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE AND FOOTHILLS. STEEP NEAR SURFACE INVERSION SHOULD KEEP THE STRONG WINDS OUT OF CHEYENNE...BUT THE INVERSION LAYER IN NOT ALL THAT DEEP...SO AN HOUR OR TWO OF STRONGER WINDS NOT IMPOSSIBLE. SAME GOES FOR THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE WHERE STRONG WIND ADVISORY TYPE WIND SPEEDS WILL NOT BE TOO FAR OFF THE SURFACE. STRONG WINDS WILL SUBSIDE THURSDAY AS THE NEXT SHOT OF ARCTIC AIR TRAILS THE SHORTWAVE DIVING INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. A PERIOD OF FOG AND LOW CLOUDS WILL FOLLOW THE FRONTAL PASSAGE AND MAY SEE SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE DEEPENING ON SURFACE TEMPERATURES. && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 250 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 EARLY AFTERNOON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY REVEALED LITTLE CHANGE IN THE LARGE SCALE PATTERN WITH A RIDGE FROM SOUTHERN TX/NORTHERN MX NORTHWESTWARD TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST AND A BROAD TROUGH FROM THE ROCKIES FRONT RANGE EAST TO THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD. BAND OF STRONGEST WINDS ALOFT EXTENDED FROM THE DAKOTAS THROUGH THE MID MS VALLEY AND OH VALLEY...WITH WEAKER NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE CWFA. MESO/MSAS ANALYSES PLACED THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE ARCTIC AIR MASS NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. EAST OF THIS BOUNDARY...WEAK UPSLOPE AND SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES PREVAILED...WITH EXTENSIVE LOW STRATUS DECK. SURFACE WINDS HAVE SHIFTED TO A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION...HOWEVER STOUT LOW LEVEL INVERSION HAS NOT ALLOWED MIXING. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN STEADY OR SLOWLY RISE THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON. FORECAST CHALLENGES DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS WILL FOCUS ON STRONG WINDS...TEMPERATURES AND MIXED WINTRY PRECIPITATION. THE UPPER RIDGE TO THE WEST WILL REMAIN STATIONARY AS THE NEXT ARCTIC CLIPPER/FRONT ACCELERATES SOUTHEAST ACROSS MONTANA...WYOMING... DAKOTAS AND NEBRASKA THURSDAY. THIS ARCTIC SURGE WILL NOT BE AS COLD AS ITS PREDECESSOR WITH A 1048MB SURFACE HIGH TRACKING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS THROUGH FRIDAY. DURING THE NEAR SHORT TERM /TONIGHT-THURSDAY MORNING/...EMPHASIS WILL BE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG WESTERLY WINDS FOR THE ARLINGTON AND BORDEAUX AREAS BEGINNING LATER THIS EVENING AND CONTINUING THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. THE CRAIG-CASPER HEIGHT GRADIENT IS NOT THAT LARGE /50-55 METERS/ BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z THURSDAY. THESE VALUES ARE MARGINAL FOR HIGH WIND EVENTS BASED ON CLIMATOLOGY. 700MB WINDS ARE PROGGED TO PEAK NEAR 50 KT DURING THIS TIME WITH MODEST DOWNWARD MOMENTUM. SO THE TIME PERIOD OF STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR OVERNIGHT WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH. ISSUED A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ARLINGTON AND BORDEAUX FROM 9 PM TO 8 AM MST. TEMPERATURES WILL BE RISING THROUGH THE 20S AND 30S THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT AS THE ARCTIC BOUNDARY RETREATS EAST WITH THE INCREASING WESTERLY BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW. WINDS WILL DECREASE THURSDAY MORNING AS THE ARCTIC AIR MASS PROGRESSES SOUTHEAST. UPSLOPE NORTH TO NORTHEAST FLOW AND MOISTURE...COMBINED WITH SUB- FREEZING TEMPERATURES... WILL RESULT IN MIXED LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE AND SNOW AS WELL AS AREAS OF FOG THURSDAY NIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. LIQUID EQUIVALENTS WILL BE LIGHT WITH UP TO A TENTH OF AN INCH. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM A HALF TO ONE INCH. HIGH TEMPERATURES THURSDAY WILL OCCUR DURING THE MORNING WITH 30S TO LOWER 40S...FALLING INTO THE TEENS AND 20S DURING THE AFTERNOON. THURSDAY NIGHT WILL BE MUCH COLDER...RANGING FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS AND LOWER TEENS ABOVE ZERO WEST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE TO THE SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO TO THE EAST. GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL MAKE IT FEEL -15 TO -20 DEGREES ACROSS MUCH OF THE PLAINS. FRIDAY WILL BE CHILLY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE TEENS AND 20S. FRIDAY NIGHT WILL NOT BE AS COLD AS SOUTHWESTERLY BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS INCREASE. LOW TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE ZERO EASTERN WYOMING PLAINS AND WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE TO THE TEENS AND LOWER 20S ELSEWHERE. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 250 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 PRETTY QUIET WEATHER IS FORECAST OVER THE WEEKEND WITH A SPLIT UPPER AIR PATTERN ACROSS MUCH OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. BREEZY WEST WINDS WILL OCCUR OVER SOUTHEAST WY...HOWEVER HIGH WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED WITH ONLY A MODERATE LOW LEVEL GRADIENT. TEMPS WILL BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL SAT THEN COOL SLIGHTLY SUN. ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WILL GIVE WAY TO A MORE TROUGHY PATTERN BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOW A TROUGH DIGGING SOUTHWARD INTO UTAH MON WITH THE BEST LIFT HEADING SOUTH OF OUR AREA INTO CO. WILL STILL INCREASE CLOUD COVER AND BRING A CHANCE OF SNOW OVER THE SIERRA MADRE/SNOWY RANGES MON. HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS OVER THE PLAINS MON NIGHT AND TUE BEHIND A COLD FROPA. NO HIGH WIND CONCERNS ARE ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1054 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 VFR FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE TONIGHT. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE THURSDAY MORNING INTO THURSDAY AFTERNOON. IFR TO MVFR CEILINGS WILL DEVELOP WITH FROPA ALONG WITH SOME FOG ALONG AND NEAR THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE INCLUDING CHEYENNE. A PERIOD OF FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE FOLLOWING FROPA NEAR THE SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE. && .FIRE WEATHER... ISSUED AT 250 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 LITTLE OR FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS ARE ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL REMAIN WELL ABOVE CRITICAL THRESHOLDS WITH IN SITU COLD TEMPERATURES AND AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP FOR WIND PRONE AREAS TONIGHT AHEAD OF ANOTHER ARCTIC COLD FRONT MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE PLAINS THURSDAY. COLDER AIR WILL INVADE MUCH OF THE DISTRICT LATE THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING PRODUCING LIGHT SNOW AND PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE. THIS WEEKEND WILL BE DRY AND MILDER...WITH SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVER THE SNOWY AND SIERRA MADRE RANGES. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 8 AM MST THURSDAY FOR WYZ106-110. NE...NONE. && UPDATE...SML SHORT TERM...MJ LONG TERM...ZF AVIATION...SML FIRE WEATHER...MJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 121 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 WYZ101>119-082030- 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- 121 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL WYOMING...SOUTH CENTRAL WYOMING AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT PATCHY FOG AND SNOW FLURRIES WILL LINGER THROUGH MID AFTERNOON ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING IN THE ARLINGTON AREA...THEN SPREAD INTO THE BORDEAUX AREA OVERNIGHT. GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED. HIGH WIND WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM THURSDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE ARLINGTON AND BORDEAUX AREAS EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. ANOTHER ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY WITH LIGHT SNOW...PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE AND FOG EXPECTED ALONG AND EAST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NEZ002-003-019>021-054-055-095-096-082030- DAWES-BOX BUTTE-SCOTTS BLUFF-BANNER-MORRILL-KIMBALL-CHEYENNE- NORTH SIOUX-SOUTH SIOUX- 121 PM MST WED JAN 7 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ANOTHER ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY WITH LIGHT SNOW...PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE AND FOG EXPECTED ALONG AND EAST OF THE LARAMIE RANGE THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. JAMSKI
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The WYDOT sensor at Halleck Ridge measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Elk Mountain measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
The WYDOT sensor at Bordeaux measured sustained winds of 40 mph or higher.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, January 2015
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: 555935, 555934, 555933.