Wyoming, 2025

High Wind in Wyoming, December 9, 2025

December 9, 2025 · NWS BYZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Very strong winds spread out onto the plains of north-central Wyoming, producing gusts up to 59 mph, but much higher just north in Montana.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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  • Winter weather
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  • Cold
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 BYZ wrote it up.

Very strong winds spread out onto the plains of north-central Wyoming, producing gusts up to 59 mph, but much higher just north in Montana.

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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 9, 11:15 AM MST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Very strong southwest to northwest winds across the region today. Gusts of 60 to 70 mph along the western foothills through midday, and gusts to 60 mph elsewhere after sunrise.
  • Prolonged period of snowfall in the western mountains. Potential for multiple feet of snow through Wednesday, greatest on west aspects of the Beartooth Absarokas.
  • A wintry mix of snow, rain and pockets of light freezing rain expected Wednesday, tracking from west to east.
  • Above normal temps today to Thursday.
  • Next shot of cold air is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon or evening. Cold front will bring a sharp drop in temperatures and be followed by accumulating snowfall. Travel conditions may become treacherous as wet roads freeze and turn icy.
  • Periods of accumulating snow across lower elevations Thursday night into Saturday. Monitor the forecast for details!
Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 11:15 AM MST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Billings MT
1115 AM MST Tue Dec 9 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Very strong southwest to northwest winds across the region
  today. Gusts of 60 to 70 mph along the western foothills
  through midday, and gusts to 60 mph elsewhere after sunrise.

- Prolonged period of snowfall in the western mountains. Potential
  for multiple feet of snow through Wednesday, greatest on west
  aspects of the Beartooth Absarokas.

- A wintry mix of snow, rain and pockets of light freezing rain
  expected Wednesday, tracking from west to east.

- Above normal temps today to Thursday.

- Next shot of cold air is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon
  or evening. Cold front will bring a sharp drop in temperatures
  and be followed by accumulating snowfall. Travel conditions may
  become treacherous as wet roads freeze and turn icy.

- Periods of accumulating snow across lower elevations Thursday
  night into Saturday. Monitor the forecast for details!

&&

.UPDATE...

The strongest winds around Livingston to Nye have come to an end
this morning. However, gusty west to southwesterly winds up to 60
mph remain likely through the early afternoon. Therefore, the High
Wind Warning for the Livingston to Nye area has been replaced
with a Wind Advisory through 2PM MST today. Over the Absaroka-
Beartooth and Crazy Mountains, the strongest winds also look to be
done this morning, so the High Wind Warning was allowed to
expire. With that said, gusty winds will still continue through
the day today in these mountain ranges, so continue to use caution
if you have recreation plans in the high country today.

Across the rest of the area, the High Wind Warnings remain in
good shape. Winds are currently gusting in the 30 to 50 mph range,
but the chance of seeing 60 mph remains through the afternoon.
While the cloud cover may help to limit this threat, scattered
light rain showers may allow the strong wind gusts to reach the
surface today. Arends

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Through next Monday...

A very active week of weather is upon us...BE READY!

Already seeing gusts of 75 mph near Nye, 72 mph at Springdale, and
just recently an 82 mph gust at the Livingston airport. Lee side
pressures are falling at a rate of 1-1.5mb/hr as of 2am, and the
IDA-LWT gradient is up to 19mb. Mesoanalysis shows 700mb winds in
the west near 75 knots. Conditions remain on track for very strong
winds today, not just along the foothills but also across lower
elevations as a cold front arrives beginning around 15z. Thus,
peak gap flow should be in the 09-15z time frame, when gusts could
occasionally reach 80 mph. Other western foothills will see
periodic gusts of 65-75 mph from now thru midday. Lower elevations
will see strongest winds begin after sunrise. Surface temps have
risen to the 40s to lower 50s during the current night, and snow
cover has dwindled, so mixing won't be an issue once cold
advection begins. A High Wind Warning remains in effect for most
of the region, and have added the Red Lodge Foothills and southern
Carbon as it looks like winds will veer enough to the NW to focus
strong gusts thru the gap between the Beartooths and Pryors
starting around late morning. HRRR runs have been consistent in
this regard.

As far as precip goes today, there will be light warm advection
rain from Rosebud County eastward early this morning. Temps in
this area are warm enough to eliminate any risk of freezing rain.
Through the course of the day we will see some light showers
coinciding with the mixed winds, mainly across the east and south.
And by the way, mountain snowfall will continue and will make no
changes to the winter highlights in effect through Wednesday
(another surge of moisture comes tomorrow).

Post-frontal air mass turns chillier tonight with lows below
freezing across the central and east. This is important as the
fast Pacific flow brings another moisture surge and a west-to-east
progressing area of warm frontal precip tomorrow. P-type is an
issue here. All indications are for a wet snow to rain transition,
with the possibility of a wintry mix (including freezing rain)
along the interface. Precip won't be particularly heavy, with snow
accumulation up to an inch in the east, but the risk of freezing
precip will need to be watched, especially east of Billings as
downslope warming kicks back in over the west.

Speaking of downslope warming, it looks like another period of
strong winds along the western foothills Wednesday into Thursday.
There is a 90% chance of 50+ mph gusts and 60% chance of 60 mph
gusts at the gap locations, with the peak likely to occur
Wednesday night and early Thursday. Non-gap areas have a 60%
chance of seeing gusts reach 50 mph.

All of the downslope flow and above normal heights will keep our
temps quite a bit warmer than normal. Look for highs generally in
the 40s to mid 50s today, tomorrow and even Thursday (depending on
cold front's arrival time). In fact, there are increasing odds
for high temps near 60F on Thursday (30% chance) as models have
trended slower with the fropa time, which looks to be in the
afternoon to early evening.

Thursday deserves more attention and is looking more and more
like a high impact day. The aforementioned Canadian front will
bring a very sharp drop in temps, and will be followed quickly by
overrunning snow per the impressive Pacific moisture fetch. As a
result, this is a strong candidate for a flash freeze and quick
onset of treacherous travel conditions for the evening commute.
We could see temps near 60F followed by teens after sunset, with
snow accumulation on top of very icy roads. Plan accordingly for
Thursday!

Periods of overrunning snowfall and much colder temps are in store
Thursday night to Saturday, with what looks like a couple
shortwaves cresting a broad Pacific NW ridge. Temperature profile
should favor a deep DGZ so snow ratios will be healthy. WNW mid
level winds means a downslope component and shallower cold air along
the western foothills, so heaviest snowfall should occur east of
the foothills, and quite possibly east of Billings. This remains
very much to be seen as small deviations will alter the location
of heaviest snow. All told, there is a high chance of 4+ inches
over a 48-hr period, and in fact a 50-75% chance of 6+ inches,
greatest near places like Hysham, Colstrip, Hardin and Lame Deer.
The odds of 6+ inches at Billings is 50%. When all is said and
done, we are likely looking at an area of 6-12" of snow in a NW to
SE oriented area through central to eastern parts of our forecast
area. This will coincide with temps in the single digits and
teens. It will be warmer in the mountains as this air mass looks
to remain only along the eastern slopes.

All indications are for cold air to remain in place through
Saturday, then lee side troffing commences again promoting dry,
windy and warmer conditions for early next week. Something to
think about eventually is a risk of blowing/drifting snow as the
arctic air retreats. Consensus among ensembles is for a stretch of
warm weather next week with Pacific flow dominating. JKL

.AVIATION...

Strong winds over the region will decrease through the afternoon
with gusts 35-45 kts most likely across all taf sites. Winds will
decrease through the evening with gusts generally below 20 kts.
Gusty southwest winds will pick up again Wednesday afternoon for
KLVM with gusts 40-45 kts expected. Isolated to scattered showers
will end late this afternoon before scattered to numerous snow
showers spread west to east Wednesday morning. There is about a
20-30% chance for mixed precipitation Wednesday morning through
the afternoon across all taf sites. Mountains will be obscured
through the TAF period due to heavy snowfall. TS

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...

    Tdy Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 053 031/052 041/054 008/016 007/019 009/041 024/042
    4/W 37/O    36/W    88/S    52/S    10/B    00/B
LVM 052 033/053 045/055 019/039 022/040 029/048 033/049
    4/W 87/O    35/W    76/O    32/O    11/B    11/B
HDN 053 027/049 037/053 006/016 004/019 003/036 017/040
    6/W 29/O    67/W    98/S    63/S    11/B    10/B
MLS 050 024/040 031/039 000/007 905/009 902/031 016/034
    1/N 08/O    66/W    66/S    72/S    10/B    10/B
4BQ 050 027/043 034/046 005/014 004/017 005/036 020/037
    3/W 08/O    75/W    87/S    62/S    10/B    00/B
BHK 047 017/036 025/037 905/005 908/008 905/030 015/035
    1/N 06/S    65/W    54/S    72/S    10/B    10/B
SHR 057 024/048 034/055 009/028 009/028 014/046 022/046
    5/W 27/S    53/W    75/S    32/S    00/B    00/B

&&

.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...High Wind Warning in effect until 5 PM MST this afternoon FOR
      ZONES
      29>34-36-37-42-56>58-63-138-139-141-169-170-172-173-228-235.
     Wind Advisory in effect until 2 PM MST this afternoon FOR
      ZONES 65-66.
     Winter Storm Warning in effect until 5 PM MST Wednesday FOR
      ZONE 67.
WY...High Wind Warning in effect until 5 PM MST this afternoon FOR
      ZONE 199.
     Winter Weather Advisory in effect until 5 PM MST Wednesday
      FOR ZONE 198.

&&

weather.gov/billings

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 9, 10:12 AM MST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings MT
1012 AM MST Tue Dec 9 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0712 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 17 NE Wilsall           46.16N 110.38W
12/09/2025  M93 MPH          Park               MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station TT453 Crazy.

0700 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 NE Melville           46.13N 109.92W
12/09/2025  M81 MPH          Sweet Grass        MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTHLS Harlowton South Us-191
            Mp 22.0.

0503 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 ENE Harlowton         46.45N 109.80W
12/09/2025  M74 MPH          Wheatland          MT   AWOS

            AWOS station K1KM 2 ENE Harlowton.

0630 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 WSW Livingston        45.65N 110.60W
12/09/2025  M65 MPH          Park               MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTLWM 2.0 SW Livingston (MT
            DOT).

0518 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 18 S Fort Smith         45.07N 107.89W
12/09/2025  M65 MPH          Big Horn           MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station BHMM8 Bighorn Mountain.

0530 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst Judith Gap              46.69N 109.75W
12/09/2025  M59 MPH          Wheatland          MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTJUD Judith Gap (MT DOT).

0400 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 9 NE Reed Point         45.80N 109.43W
12/09/2025  M59 MPH          Stillwater         MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTM22 8.8 NE Reed Point
            (MT-MESO).

0200 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ENE Livingston        45.69N 110.50W
12/09/2025  M58 MPH          Park               MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTELV 3.3 E Livingston (MT
            DOT).

0530 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 1 SSE Roscoe            45.34N 109.49W
12/09/2025  M57 MPH          Carbon             MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTROH 0.8 SE Roscoe (MT
            DOT).

0530 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 WSW Molt              45.82N 109.09W
12/09/2025  M55 MPH          Stillwater         MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTM20 8.4 S Halfbreed Lake
            Wildlife (MT-MESO).

0545 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 SSE Washoe            45.07N 109.15W
12/09/2025  M53 MPH          Carbon             MT   Mesonet

            Mesonet station MTM98 Ruby Creek.

0304 AM     Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 1 NW Burgess Junction   44.79N 107.54W
12/09/2025  M51 MPH          Sheridan           WY   Mesonet

            Mesonet station BUJW4 Burgess.

&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Sheridan Foothills

When
December 9, 12:42 PM MST
Where
Sheridan Foothills forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.790, -106.879 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Gust of 59 mph reported at kshr.

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 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, December 2025

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1308136.