A strong jet stream remained over Wyoming for several days in early April. A series of shortwaves passed through the state at the same time and mixed strong mid level winds to the surface to bring widespread high winds to much of western and central Wyoming.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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.
A strong jet stream remained over Wyoming for several days in early April. A series of shortwaves passed through the state at the same time and mixed strong mid level winds to the surface to bring widespread high winds to much of western and central Wyoming. The strongest wind occurred in the mountains where wind gusts of 88 mph occurred at both Fales Rock in the Green Mountains and the top of the Jackson Hole Ski Resort in the Tetons. Some of the highest winds in the lower elevations included 79 mph near Lander and 72 mph at the Buffalo airport. Near Lander, a fence was damaged by the wind. Wind gusts over 58 mph also occurred in Park, Sweetwater, and Lincoln Counties.
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 Apr 4, 10:45 AM MST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Riverton WY 1145 AM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 .SHORT TERM...Today through Wednesday night Those of you that are Generation X or older, probably remember the mockumentary movie "This Is Spinal Tap." And one of classic scenes in the movie is the one with the amplifier that goes up to 11. Well, substitute the amplifier with the Wyoming Wind Machine, and this will be the case over the next few days. Maybe cranked up to 12 in some cases. Anyway, we will break the discussion into West and East of the Divide tonight with some contrasts. West of the Divide...Here, there will be some snow to deal with along with the wind. The WPC guidance does look too wet though and even if it did verify, it would fall over the higher elevations of the Wind River Range, where only a few people would dare venture. So, we will continue the Winter Weather Advisories as is for the most part. We will add Yellowstone as well, with the highest amounts in the southwestern portion of the Park. The heaviest snow would be this evening as the area gets into the powerful 160 knot jet moving over the area. The steadiest snow should end by noon Tuesday with only leftover showers after that. However... The main story will likely be the wind. With the shifting of the jet core a little bit further north than yesterday, the area will be in the right front quadrant of the jet for longer than indicated before. This increases the chance of high to possibly damaging winds across portions of the area. The GFS guidance continues to be off the chart with wind with sustained 50 knot winds much of tonight and peaking at 59 knots at the Jackson Hole Airport! But, the NAM is lighter but still has sustained winds of over 30 knots. So, we went ahead and upgraded the high wind watches to warnings. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle though. With the snow and rain changing to snow, travel conditions will become very difficult tonight before improving through the day Tuesday as the core of the jet sags further to south. Meanwhile, in Sweetwater County, winds will increase this morning as the pressure gradient tightens ahead of the advancing Pacific front and trough. Here, the gradient will finally weaken somewhat Wednesday e models are more consistent with having sustained high winds from this afternoon through Tuesday before decreasing Tuesday night. The warning looks good across the south so we will leave it as is. The mid level winds are very impressive here, as high as 80 knots at 700 millibars and 100 knots at 500 millibars so it would not surprise me to see some hurricane force wind gusts at times in the favored areas of Sweetwater County. Wind should finally decrease Wednesday as the pressure gradient decreases and the jet shifts to the east. East of the Divide...The main story here again is wind. As for snow, there will be some across the north and especially in the Bighorn Range. However, amounts look to be borderline advisory at best. And given anything that falls during the day would melt on roads since the air behind the front is not that cold, we went with high wind warnings since this looks to be the biggest impact. The reasoning with the wind looks the same as West of the Divide with winds increasing as the right front quadrant of the jet moves into the area. We went ahead and upgraded all the watches to warnings this morning. We did make a few tweaks though, we did start the warnings across central areas a little earlier given the earlier arrival of the jet. In addition, high resolution models are showing a possible mountain wave breaking near Lander later this afternoon. We kept most of the Big Horn Basin until tomorrow but this may have to be sped up in model trends continue. Winds should remain below high wind during the day here though so still some time to make tweaks. Many areas may see a lull later tonight though as the jet sinks south of the area though. The wind will then crank up again as cold advection begins behind the front. Height lines are showing unusually tight packing and with a tight pressure gradient, this looks to be a more widespread high wind across the area. The strongest winds will be favored across the northwest flow / cold advection areas, mainly the Wind River Basin, Big Horn Basin and northern Johnson County. All models show the strongest winds across northern Johnson County, with 700 millibar winds between 60 and 70 knots as low pressure moves into the Plains states. At this point, this does not look to be a run of the mill high wind event, this one could cause damage, especially in Johnson County if things set up just right. Wednesday will see some decrease in more western areas. However, with another piece of energy moving southward into the eastern areas. This will lead to another day of high to possibly damaging wind across Johnson County and the Big Horn Range. There is some possibility it may extend further west into Big Horn County as well, but we do not have enough confidence at this time to extend the warning. With the jet finally moving away Wednesday night, wind should finally decrease across the area and bring an end to this prolonged wind event across the Cowboy State. .LONG TERM...Thursday through Sunday Thursday will be dry with breezy conditions in the afternoon into early evening for the east zones and the southwest. High temperatures will be in the 50s for the most part. A few places may only see upper 40s for highs in the east zones. Friday will be dry and warmer with highs in the 60s. A few places east of the divide may be around 70. The wind corridors of the central and south will see breezy conditions and elevated fire weather concerns once again. The models are trending toward an unsettled weather pattern Saturday and Sunday. The first weather system and cold front moves into the west and north on Saturday afternoon and night. A chance of rain and snow showers over the west and north Saturday afternoon and night. The central and south will be dry Saturday. Breezy to windy over the region. Elevated fire concerns in the central and south Saturday afternoon. Highs Saturday will be in the 60s to around 70 east of the divide with 50s in the far west. Models for Sunday afternoon and night look to bring a second weather disturbance into the region. This one is stronger and has colder air with it for Sunday night. Isolated showers in the morning will lead to more showers in the afternoon. It looks to be rain showers east of the divide Sunday afternoon with snow showers in the west. Then, mainly snow showers will occur Sunday night. Breezy to windy many areas Sunday into Sun night. Highs will be in the 50s to lower 60s east of the divide, with 40s in the far west. Plenty of time to watch this weather pattern evolve and make adjustments as needed. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) Issued at 1140 AM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 Gusty winds already starting to pick up across the state, with all sites expected to see gusts above 30kts this afternoon. Winds will remain gusty overnight tonight, with possibly stronger winds setting up. KJAC could see gusts above 50kts between 03Z and 09Z tonight. There will also be snow around KJAC/KBPI/KPNA overnight, bringing lowered vis and cigs with BLSN. Most snowfall should be ending by 18Z Tuesday, with slowly improving cigs expected. Winds will again be gusty on Tuesday, with most areas continuing to reach 30kts at times during the afternoon. && .FIRE WEATHER... A Pacific weather system will move into the state today. This will bring widespread strong to high winds across the state from this afternoon and continuing into Wednesday. With humidity falling into the teens this afternoon East of the Divide, elevated fire weather conditions are likely, especially in Fremont, Natrona, Sweetwater and Johnson Counties. Snow will spread into the west this afternoon and continue tonight before ending Tuesday. Some showers are possible East of the Divide tonight and Tuesday, but amounts should remain light except in the mountains. Mixing and smoke dispersal will range from good in the west to excellent East of the Divide this afternoon. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 6 AM MDT Wednesday for WYZ003-007-011-016>020-022-027>030. High Wind Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 3 PM MDT Tuesday for WYZ013-023. Winter Weather Advisory until noon MDT Tuesday for WYZ001-012- 024. High Wind Warning from 6 AM Tuesday to 6 PM MDT Wednesday for WYZ008>010. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM MDT Tuesday for WYZ002-014- 015. High Wind Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for WYZ025-026. High Wind Warning from 6 AM Tuesday to 6 AM MDT Wednesday for WYZ004>006. && SHORT TERM...Hattings LONG TERM...Ross AVIATION...Straub FIRE WEATHER...Hattings
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Riverton WY 337 AM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 WYZ001>020-022>030-051100- 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- 337 AM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022 ...High Wind Warnings are in effect for much of the area from this afternoon though Wednesday afternoon... ...Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for the western mountains from this afternoon through Tuesday morning... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Western and Central Wyoming. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Elevated fire weather likely in portions of central Wyoming this afternoon. Snow spreading into the western mountains this afternoon and continuing through tonight. Please see Winter Weather Advisories for details. High winds developing this afternoon and tonight across much of the area. Damaging wind gusts are possible in some locations. Please see High Wind Warnings for details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. Tuesday through Tuesday night...Strong to high winds are likely across most of the area. Some areas may see damaging wind gusts at times. Please see High Wind Warnings for details. Wednesday...Windy to very windy east of the divide with high wind gusts still possible in northern Johnson county. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to standard operating procedures. Team Riverton
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A maximum wind gust of 69 mph was reported along Highway 120 near Meeteetse. Other notable wind gusts included 66 mph in Dry Creek and 60 mph at Clark.
A maximum wind gust of 79 mph was reported at a weather station in Sinks Canyon. The high wind blew down a fence at a ranch. The Lander airport had a wind gust of 58 mph.
The RAWS site at Fales Rock had a maximum wind gust of 88 mph.
A maximum wind gust of 69 mph was reported at the Natrona County Airport west of Casper. Numerous wind gusts over 60 mph were reported along numerous wind sensors along Interstate 25 as well as US 20 26.
A maximum wind gust of 63 mph was reported at the Southwest Wyoming Regional airport near Rock Springs. A 61 mph gust was reported along Interstate 80 near the Sweetwater-Carbon county border.
A maximum wind gust of 88 mph was reported at the summit of the Jackson Hole Ski resort.
A 61 mph wind gust was reported at the Jackson Hole airport.
A maximum wind gust of 72 mph was reported at the Johnson County airport near Buffalo. Numerous locations along Interstates 25 and 90 had wind gusts past 60 mph, resulting in very difficult travel conditions, especially for high profile vehicles.
A maximum wind gust of 67 mph was reported at Crowheart.
A maximum wind gust of 65 mph was reported along Interstate 80 in Green River.
A maximum wind gust of 68 mph was reported at the Riverton airport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, April 2022
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: 1019520, 1019540, 1019535, 1019537, 1019522, 1019526, 1019523, 1019527, 1019538, 1019521, 1019539.