Strong, moist westerly flow off the Pacific Ocean brought abundant moisture to the mountains and valleys of western Wyoming. The precipitation fell as snow in the mountains, with the heaviest snow of 12 to 18 inches falling in the Salt River, Wyoming, and western Wind River ranges.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
Strong, moist westerly flow off the Pacific Ocean brought abundant moisture to the mountains and valleys of western Wyoming. The precipitation fell as snow in the mountains, with the heaviest snow of 12 to 18 inches falling in the Salt River, Wyoming, and western Wind River ranges. The position and strength of a jet streak helped to produce and sustain persistent snow in a swath from Big Piney to Pinedale in Sublette County. Snowfall rates reached up to 2 inches an hour during the late evening of Sunday, October 16, and early morning hours of Monday, October 17. Totals within this heavy snow band ranged from 8 inches to 15 inches with the greatest totals from around Daniel to Pinedale. In Big Piney, the heavy, wet snow caused the collapse of a school bus building roof. East of the Continental Divide the story was strong downslope wind. Wind gusts in the Lander Foothills topped 70 mph with a peak of 80 mph along the North Fork of the Popo Agie River. The strong winds blew over a tree in a Lander residential area.
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 Oct 16, 1:02 PM MST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 203 PM MDT SUN OCT 16 2016 WYZ001>020-022>030-171200- 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- 203 PM MDT SUN OCT 16 2016 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY... ...HIGH WIND WATCH FOR FREMONT AND SWEETWATER COUNTIES MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT TODAY AND TONIGHT...STRONG WEST TO SOUTHWEST WIND ACROSS THE CENTRAL WIND CORRIDOR BETWEEN SOUTH PASS AND CASPER IN ADDITION TO THE LANDER AND CODY FOOTHILLS. SNOW IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...INCREASING IN INTENSITY TONIGHT WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AT TIMES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY MONDAY...A STRONG WINTER WEATHER SYSTEM CONTINUES TO PUSH ACROSS THE REGION WITH MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW AT TIMES WEST OF THE DIVIDE. STRONG WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...WITH HIGH WINDS POSSIBLE ALONG THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL WYOMING. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS TUESDAY AFTERNOON WITH CHANCES OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS SPREADING INTO CENTRAL AREAS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT WIND GUSTS PAST 45 MPH...WIND DAMAGE AND SNOWFALL. THANK YOU.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 winter storm, 3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
There were numerous reports of over a foot of snow in the Salt River and Wyoming ranges. The greatest total was an estimated 19 to 21 inches at the Spring Creek Divide SNOTEL.
There were widespread reports over over 6 inches of snow, including 12 to 15 inches around Pinedale.
Heavy snow fell with widespread reports of 6 to 12 inches. At Big Piney, the heavy, wet snow caused the school bus barn's roof to collapse.
A trained CoCoRaHS observer measured seven inches of snow at Star Valley Ranch.
The Pocket Creek SNOTEL reported an estimated 15 inches of new snow.
Wind gusts to 58 mph were measured along Wyoming Boulevard on the south edge of Casper.
A mountain wave developed over the Wind River Range and brought very strong winds to the Lander Foothills. Wind gusts past exceeding 60 mph occurred for several hours. The maximum wind gusts were 73 mph at the Lander Airport and 80 mph at a mesonet station in the North Fork Popo Agie River Canyon. A tree was uprooted and blown over in Lander.
There were numerous wind gusts past 58 mph in portions of the Green Mountains and Rattlesnake Range. Some of the strongest gusts were 74 mph at Camp Creek and 65 mph at Fales Rock.
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, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 658971, 658972, 658974, 658970, 658973, 658977, 658989, 658988.