An area of low pressure strengthening over the northern plains brought a tight pressure gradient to the area. Combined with strong mid level winds and favored northwest flow high winds occurred over northern Johnson county.
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The episode as NWS RIW wrote it up.
An area of low pressure strengthening over the northern plains brought a tight pressure gradient to the area. Combined with strong mid level winds and favored northwest flow high winds occurred over northern Johnson county. The strongest gust was 67 mph at the Buffalo airport.
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 Nov 28, 10:17 PM MST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Riverton WY 1017 PM MST Mon Nov 28 2016 .Short Term...Tonight Through Tuesday (Issued at 231 PM MST) Organized snowfall quickly coming to an end in the western mountains and not much yet east of the Continental divide outside of the mountain areas. As the closed upper level low pressure center moving into Minnesota ejects east northeast through the evening, strong northwest flow aloft will line up with the Bighorn mountains significantly increasing the flow over northern Johnson county. Have upgraded High wind watch to a high wind warning for tonight and Tuesday. Some light snow showers will linger over and near the mountains in the northwest flow with colder temperatures moving in. .Long Term...Tuesday Night Through Monday Cold northwest flow will gradually shift to the east as a high pressure ridge aloft shifts east into western Wyoming. General clearing will occur while some low stratus may linger over and near the mountains. Overall wind will decrease. A Pacific low pressure trough will approach the western mountains Wednesday afternoon increasing through the night with some warming east of the Continental Divide as clouds increase. A cold front will move south from Montana on Thursday with light snow spreading across the central and east as cold air moves in. Snowfall amounts in the cold air look very limited but some places along the north and east facing mountain slopes may see 1c to 3 inches of light fluffy snow. This will start a rather prolonged cold spell which will be hard for the valleys and basins to recover from as temperature inversions will develop and the cold dense air will be hard to scour out of the lower elevations. Will likely need to add areas of fog to the forecast but am more concerned with snow amounts at this time. Friday looks rather benign with Wyoming between troughs and high pressure in place. Temperatures will likely be the biggest forecast challenge. Friday night and saturday a Pacific low pressure trough will move towards northwest Wyoming from Northern Idaho and Western Montana with light snowfall spreading across the west and north. This will keep some light snow over the mountains through Saturday night but moisture looks very limited and cold air will remain trapped in the valleys and basins. The flow aloft is expected to shift from the northwest to west with a flat ridge. Moisture will increase into the west ern mountains Sunday afternoon and Sunday night with a warmer source region. Moisture content should increase with more productive snowfall resulting. Windy areas will increase across the south and east. Snowfall amounts could be significant Sunday night and Monday as a trough deepens to the west of Wyoming with a continued favorable moisture plume. Winds across the south and east could get quite strong ahead of a cold front moving south from Montana. .Aviation.../06Z Issuance/ WEST OF THE DIVIDE...KBPI/KJAC/KPNA/KRKS ROUTES Some snow showers over and near the mountains will continue through Tuesday evening. Expect some mountain obscuration along with MVFR to IFR conditions in the vicinity of the mountains. The terminal sites will maintain VFR conditions through the forecast period. EAST OF THE DIVIDE...KCOD/KCPR/KLND/KRIW/KWRL ROUTES VFR conditions will occur at the terminal sites through the period. A gusty wind will be common in northern WY through Tuesday afternoon. The wind will gradually decrease Tuesday night. Some snow showers will occur in the Bighorn mountains through 18Z, then become isolated snow showers after 18Z. Expect mountain obscuration at times with MVFR/IFR conditions through 21Z. Snow showers will be ending after 01Z Wed. .Fire Weather... Organized snowfall quickly coming to an end in the western mountains and not much yet east of the Continental divide outside of the mountain areas. As the closed upper level low pressure center moving into Minnesota ejects east northeast through the evening, strong northwest flow aloft will line up with the Bighorn mountains significantly increasing the flow over northern Johnson county. Have upgraded High wind watch to a high wind warning for tonight and Tuesday. Some light snow showers will linger over and near the mountains in the northwest flow with colder temperatures moving in. The basins and valleys will have inversions in place with poor smoke dispersal. The windy areas of the east will have good smoke dispersal on Tuesday. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 11 PM this evening to 5 PM MST Tuesday for WYZ010. && SHORT TERM...C.Baker LONG TERM...C.Baker AVIATION...AR FIRE WEATHER...C.Baker
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 231 PM MST MON NOV 28 2016 WYZ001>020-022>030-292145- YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK-ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS-CODY FOOTHILLS- NORTH BIG HORN BASIN-SOUTHWEST BIG HORN BASIN- SOUTHEAST BIG HORN BASIN-OWL CREEK AND BRIDGER MOUNTAINS- BIGHORN MOUNTAINS WEST-BIGHORN MOUNTAINS SOUTHEAST- NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY-SOUTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY- TETON AND GROS VENTRE MOUNTAINS-JACKSON HOLE- WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS WEST-WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS EAST- UPPER WIND RIVER BASIN-WIND RIVER BASIN-LANDER FOOTHILLS- GREEN MOUNTAINS AND RATTLESNAKE RANGE- NATRONA COUNTY LOWER ELEVATIONS-CASPER MOUNTAIN-STAR VALLEY- SALT RIVER AND WYOMING RANGES-UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN FOOTHILLS- UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN-SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY- ROCK SPRINGS AND GREEN RIVER-FLAMING GORGE-EAST SWEETWATER COUNTY- 231 PM MST MON NOV 28 2016 ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR NORTHERN JOHNSON COUNTY LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT HIGH WINDS ARE EXPECTED IN NORTHERN JOHNSON COUNTY TONIGHT. SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE WEST AND NORTH TAPERING OFF THROUGH THE NIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY TUESDAY...HIGH WIND EXPECTED OVER EASTERN JOHNSON COUNTY. BLUSTERY NORTHWEST WIND ALSO LIKELY FURTHER WEST FROM THE BIGHORN BASIN INTO THE WIND RIVER BASIN. THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT...SNOW DEVELOPING ACROSS THE WEST AND ALONG THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE THURSDAY, TAPERING OFF NORTH TO SOUTH FRIDAY MORNING. FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...STRONG WINDS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS AND ALONG THE CODY FOOTHILLS TO DUBOIS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. THANK YOU. TEAM RIVERTON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several gusts over 58 mph were recorded at the Buffalo airport, including a maximum of 67 mph.
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, November 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 663531.