Extreme Cold in Wyoming, December 16 to 18, 2016

Name: Extreme Cold in Wyoming, December 16 to 18, 2016
Start: 2016-12-16T18:00
End: 2016-12-18T06:00
Location: Wyoming

December 16 to 18, 2016 · NWS UNR · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Arctic air pushed into the area behind an exiting storm system. High temperatures were below zero on the 17th with low temperatures on the 17th and 18th ranging from 15 below to 30 below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS UNR wrote it up.

Arctic air pushed into the area behind an exiting storm system. High temperatures were below zero on the 17th with low temperatures on the 17th and 18th ranging from 15 below to 30 below zero. An official NWS cooperative observer near Weston recorded a record daily low temperature of 36 below zero on the morning of the 17th. Wind chill values dropped as low as 45 below across the area.

What forecasters said that day

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 Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 16, 4:22 PM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 4:22 PM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 16, 2:45 PM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 16, 1:45 PM MST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 16, 1:57 PM MST, 4 hours 3 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 16, 2:44 PM MST, 3 hours 16 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 16, 3:03 PM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 16, 3:09 PM MST, 2 hours 51 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 16, 4:21 PM MST, 1 hour 39 minutes before

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Campbell

When: December 16, 6:00 PM MST to December 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Northern Campbell forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, South Campbell

When: December 16, 6:00 PM MST to December 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: South Campbell forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northeastern Crook

When: December 16, 7:00 PM MST to December 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Northeastern Crook forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Western Crook

When: December 16, 7:00 PM MST to December 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Western Crook forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.589, -104.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Weston

When: December 16, 7:00 PM MST to December 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Weston forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.841, -104.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wyoming Black Hills

When: December 16, 7:00 PM MST to December 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Wyoming Black Hills forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.215, -104.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wyoming in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, December 2016

Sources

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: 662842, 662843, 662841, 662844, 662845, 662846.