A combination of deep snowpack, long December nights, an Arctic airmass and light winds brought extreme cold to portions of western and central Wyoming. A station northeast of Dubois had a low temperature of -45 degrees.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 combination of deep snowpack, long December nights, an Arctic airmass and light winds brought extreme cold to portions of western and central Wyoming. A station northeast of Dubois had a low temperature of -45 degrees. Several locations in Yellowstone had low temperatures around -40. DuBois dropped to -36 with temperatures of -30 or lower recorded near Meeteetse, Riverton and Casper.
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 Dec 16, 11:32 PM MST, 28 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
A weather station reported a low temperature of -36 degrees at Dubois. The Dubois airport had a low temperature of -32 degrees.
Extremely cold temperatures occurred through much of Yellowstone Park. Some of the coldest temperatures included -40 degrees at Old Faithful and -39 degrees at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
A RAWS site 14 miles ENE of Dubois recorded a low temperature of -45 degrees.
A NWS Employee's weather station 2 miles south of Riverton recorded a low of -32 degrees.
A temperature of -31 degrees was recorded 6 miles southwest of Meeteetse.
The ASOS at the Casper airport recorded a low temperature of -30 degrees.
An elderly man froze to death in his home, about 12 miles southwest of Cody, Wyoming. Temperatures outside were around -10 degrees on the morning of the 17th.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cody Foothills | 2016-12-17 | 69 | Male | Unknown | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, December 2016
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 665924, 665925, 665923, 665926, 665927, 665928, 670866.