Wyoming, 2017

High Wind in Wyoming, October 31, 2017

October 31, 2017 · NWS RIW · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A Pacific trough and front moved into Wyoming and brought high winds to portions of central Wyoming. The strongest winds were across the normally wind prone areas of the Green and Rattlesnake Range.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
3

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 RIW wrote it up.

A Pacific trough and front moved into Wyoming and brought high winds to portions of central Wyoming. The strongest winds were across the normally wind prone areas of the Green and Rattlesnake Range. Numerous gusts of over 58 mph were recorded at Camp Creek with a maximum wind gust of 84 mph. Strong winds also occurred in the Absarokas and Cody Foothills, where wind gusts of 80 and 66 mph occurred, respectively. This event continued into November, along snow in some areas. Please see November Storm Data for the conclusion of this event.

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 Riverton, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 31, 2:33 AM MST, 10 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 2:33 AM MST, 10 hours 17 minutes before
<!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, Oct 31, 2:23 AM MST, 10 hours 27 minutes before
<!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 radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Green Mountains & Rattlesnake Range

When
October 31, 12:50 PM MST to 11:59 PM MST
Where
Green Mountains & Rattlesnake Range forecast zone
Measured
73 kt (84 mph) measured gust
Reported by
RAWS
Coordinates
42.554, -108.102 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The RAWS site at Camp Creek had many wind gusts past 58 mph; including a maximum of 84 mph.

High Wind, Absaroka Mountains

When
October 31, 1:10 PM MST to 3:55 PM MST
Where
Absaroka Mountains forecast zone
Measured
70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
43.760, -108.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The weather station along the Chief Joseph Highway reported several wind gusts over 74 mph; including a maximum of 80 mph.

High Wind, Cody Foothills

When
October 31, 1:45 PM MST to 9:36 PM MST
Where
Cody Foothills forecast zone
Measured
57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.521, -109.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds occurred in the wind prone areas around Clark, with a maximum wind gust of 66 mph 8 miles south-southwest of Clark. High winds got into the west side of Cody as well, with a gust of 59 mph 2 miles southwest of Cody.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wyoming in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, October 2017

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 721973, 721971, 721972.