Wyoming, 2019

Winter Storm and High Wind in Wyoming, January 27 to 28, 2019

January 27 to 28, 2019 · NWS RIW · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

An Alberta Clipper moved southeast across Wyoming. Most areas only had light amounts of snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 RIW wrote it up.

An Alberta Clipper moved southeast across Wyoming. Most areas only had light amounts of snow. However, local banding developed near Lander where some areas had over 6 inches of snow. More areas saw high wind as the cold front moved through. Some of the more notable wind gusts included 87 mph along the Chief Joseph Highway and 71 mph south of Casper.

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 Jan 27, 10:38 AM MST, 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 10:38 AM MST, 35 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, Jan 27, 2:45 AM MST, 8 hours 28 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>

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 27, 9:03 AM MST, 2 hours 10 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

5 high wind, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northeast Johnson County

When
January 27, 11:13 AM MST to 9:15 PM MST
Where
Northeast Johnson County forecast zone
Measured
54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.039, -106.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The ASOS at the Buffalo airport measured a maximum wind gust of 62 mph. Along Interstate 25, wind gusts as high as 64 mph. The wind combined with snow to produce sharply reduced visibility that made travel very difficult for a time.

High Wind, Absaroka Mountains

When
January 27, 11:45 AM MST to 12:55 PM MST
Where
Absaroka Mountains forecast zone
Measured
76 kt (87 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.760, -108.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds occurred in portions of the Absarokas. Along the Chief Joseph Highway, there were several hurricane force wind gusts, including a maximum gust of 87 mph.

High Wind, Natrona County Lower Elevations

When
January 27, 12:00 PM MST to 1:30 PM MST
Where
Natrona County Lower Elevations forecast zone
Measured
62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
42.962, -106.798 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several wind gusts past 58 mph occurred along Wyoming Boulevard south of Casper. The strongest gust was 71 mph.

High Wind, Upper Wind River Basin

When
January 27, 1:35 PM MST
Where
Upper Wind River Basin forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
43.041, -108.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A wind gust of 60 mph was recorded at the DuBois airport.

High Wind, Wind River Basin

When
January 27, 2:44 PM MST
Where
Wind River Basin forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
43.041, -108.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The ASOS at the Riverton airport had a wind gust of 61 mph.

Winter Storm, Lander Foothills

When
January 27, 11:00 PM MST to January 28, 9:00 AM MST
Where
Lander Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.041, -108.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Spotters reported anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow throughout the city of Lander.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wyoming in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, January 2019

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 803515, 803514, 803518, 803517, 803516, 803519.