Portions of the wind prone area across southeastern Wyoming measured periods of high winds mainly sustained 40 mph while the North Snowy Range Foothills forecast zone had a Wyoming Department of Transportation sensor measure a brief period of wind gusts up to 60 mph.
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.
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 CYS wrote it up.
Portions of the wind prone area across southeastern Wyoming measured periods of high winds mainly sustained 40 mph while the North Snowy Range Foothills forecast zone had a Wyoming Department of Transportation sensor measure a brief period of wind gusts up to 60 mph.
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 Cheyenne, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 31, 3:56 AM MST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Cheyenne WY 456 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 301 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 Strong winds are the main forecast concern across southeast WY and the western NE Panhandle through this evening. Low-level gradients will continue to strengthen early this morning w/ surface pressure falls across the western Dakotas. The 700/850 mb CAG-CPR gradients are already around 45 meters and are expected to peak around 50 to 55 meters between 12-15z. Peak wind gusts in the Arlington and Elk Mountain area through 09z have been around 40-45 MPH, so we should see gusts around 55 MPH in the next few hours. A swath of 50 to 55 knot 700-800 mb flow is progged through 12z, but this decreases to about 45 knots by mid/late morning. Expect most areas to see gusty winds today w/ the combination of excellent mixing and appreciable flow aloft. Best chance for High Wind Warning criteria wind should be over northern and western areas beneath stronger flow aloft and better subsidence. We will need to monitor this closely, but right now the window appears too brief to be confident in achieving wind gusts in excess of 60 MPH for any headlines. Winds should diminish quickly after sunset. A few showers will be possible this afternoon, mainly along & west of the Laramie Range although some activity will also occur across our northern zones closer to the more active upper jet. Once again some showers may be accompanied by enhanced wind gusts given a dry boundary layer. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 301 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 An impressive 500mb upper level trough elongated from the Pacific Northwest at 12Z Wednesday to Ontario, Canada will propagate further to the south and east through the day. Several embedded shortwave disturbances aloft ahead of the more elongated trough are evidenced on medium-range guidance models. This will assist with the potential development of light rain and snow showers to pop up ahead of the approaching surface cold frontal boundary. We will have warm temperatures east of the Laramie Range on Wednesday afternoon. 700mb temperatures will approach 3-5 degrees Celsius, and combined with a southerly wind component ahead of the approaching front, some spots could easily see 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit. The warmer surface temperatures will play a large role in keeping the approaching precipitation as rain the further south/closer to the Colorado/Wyoming border one goes. The northerly regions of our CWA will not get that warm due to increasing cloud cover. Temps are likely to not reach higher than the mid 40s. Further south in Colorado on Wednesday, a Colorado Low is forecast to develop between the hours of 12Z Wednesday and 0Z Thursday. This 12 hour time period of surface low pressure development, and the exact placement of the surface low over CO is where the model guidance is slightly different. The further north solution provided by the GFS/Euro model is favorable for heavy snow accumulation over our area, whereas the NAM has much less of a favorable surface low track for snow accumulation near Cheyenne. Looking at the potential precipitation accumulation comparison, the GFS is the most aggressive with as much as 0.75 inches near Cheyenne and Scottsbluff. The NAM and the Euro model have much less for Cheyenne and Scottsbluff: between 0.1-0.25 inches. Another item to keep in mind, is that there is model agreement the further north one looks to see snowfall totals increase. This is because there will be colder temperatures at the onset of the developing weather system in our northern portions of the CWA. Winter headlines may need to be considered for the northern zones once we have another iteration of models come through later today. The overall trend is that potential snowfall accumulation will be low at the Wyoming/Nebraska southern border to Colorado, and increase to possible headline criteria values along the North Laramie Range and possibly the Pine Ridge. There are still a lot of moving parts to assess with this evolving system, and once the models start sampling closer to the time of our weather, we will have a better grasp on its potential impacts for the area. Additionally, model guidance is in agreement that much colder temperatures will be associated with the passing of the cold front. Thursday night temperatures look unseasonably cold for the area. Several areas will likely see temperatures in the single digits for overnight lows, and this will certainly reach as far south as the Wyoming and Nebraska border where low teens are likely for overnight minimums. Surface high pressure will be over the area on Friday, with lingering snow showers in the higher terrain possible. Our focus after the potential winter event this week will be on Saturday night into Sunday where high winds are possible. Currently, model guidance is showing 50+knots at the 750/800mb level in our northern zones near Douglas. That is not too far from the actual surface, so we will be paying attention to this since the forecast area is beginning to trend away from high wind season. The active weather pattern looks to continue with several impulses moving over the forecast area in the coming week to 10 days. This coincides well with the Climate Prediction Center providing the 8-14 day outlook with normal to below normal high temperatures, and near to above normal precipitation chances in that time period. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Wednesday morning) Issued at 301 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 Patchy dense fog will result in periods of IFR/LIFR visibility for KAIA early this morning. Otherwise, VFR prevails. Gusty winds over all terminals this afternoon w/ gusts in excess of 30 knots common across the region. The strongest winds will be along and west of I 25, where gusts in excess of 50 MPH can be expected between around 18z and 03z. Scattered showers are also expected west & north this afternoon. A few may contain gusty/erratic surface winds. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 301 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 Fire weather concerns are low for today. Gusty winds will peak at 40-45 mph today over Carbon County and in Converse County. Relative humidity values do not reach below 20% for this afternoon during daytime maximum high temperatures. && .CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WY...None. NE...None. && SHORT TERM...CLH LONG TERM...BW AVIATION...CLH FIRE WEATHER...BW
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Cheyenne WY 503 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 NEZ002-003-019>021-054-055-095-096-WYZ101>119-011200- Dawes-Box Butte-Scotts Bluff County-Banner County-Morrill- Kimball County-Cheyenne-North Sioux-South Sioux- Converse County Lower Elevations-Niobrara County- North Laramie Range-Ferris/Seminoe/Shirley Mountains- Shirley Basin-Central Laramie Range and Southwest Platte County- East Platte County-Goshen County-Central Carbon County- North Snowy Range Foothills-Southwest Carbon County- Sierra Madre Range-Upper North Platte River Basin-Snowy Range- Laramie Valley-South Laramie Range-South Laramie Range Foothills- Central Laramie County-East Laramie County- 503 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of panhandle Nebraska...western Nebraska...east central Wyoming...south central Wyoming and southeast Wyoming. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT Gusty winds are possible today. 15-25mph sustained winds by this afternoon, with gusts up to 45mph possible in the higher terrain. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low on Wednesday. Light rain/snow showers are possible on Wednesday morning and afternoon. Wednesday night into Thursday, accumulating snowfall will be possible in the northern Nebraska Panhandle and North Laramie Range. .Spotter information statement... Spotter activation will not be needed, however snowfall reports on Thursday will be appreciated by anyone willing to contact our office via phone or social media.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Cheyenne WY 530 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 WYZ110-311500- North Snowy Range Foothills- Including the cities of Arlington and Elk Mountain 530 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 ...GUSTY WINDS NEAR ARLINGTON AND ELK MOUNTAIN... Motorists traveling along Interstate 80 between Laramie and Rawlins this morning may encounter strong gusty winds near Arlington and Elk Mountain. Wind gusts up to 55 MPH are expected, resulting in hazardous travel conditions for light and high profile vehicles, including camping and tractor trailers. Use extreme caution if traveling through these areas. CLH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wyoming Department of Transportation sensor along Interstate 80 at Lone Tree or two miles west of Buford measured the reported period of sustained high winds.
Wyoming Department of Transportation sensor along Interstate 80 at County Road 402 or three miles east-southeast of Elk Mountain measured the reported wind gust.
Wyoming Department of Transportation sensor at Bordeaux or nine miles south of the Wheatland measured the reported sustained winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, March 2020
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: 875431, 875430, 875429.