A trough moving along the US/Canada border strengthen mean sea level pressure gradients over southeast Wyoming, leading to high winds in some of the typical wind prones.
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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.
A trough moving along the US/Canada border strengthen mean sea level pressure gradients over southeast Wyoming, leading to high winds in some of the typical wind prones.
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 Apr 7, 5:04 PM MST, 5 hours 18 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Cheyenne WY
604 PM MDT Tue Apr 7 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Winds will increase across Southeast Wyoming Tuesday into
Wednesday, increasing fire concerns and potential for strong
winds in the wind prone areas.
- A High Wind Warning is in effect for the Arlington/Elk
Mountain wind prone area from midnight tonight through 3 PM
Wednesday.
- Greater precipitation chances return to Southern Wyoming and
Western Nebraska into the weekend, confidence in precipitation
amounts remains low.
&&
.SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/...
Issued at 134 PM MDT Tue Apr 7 2026
Tonight...Visible satellite imagery shows some cumulus development
across portions of southeast Wyoming, south of a Rawlins to
Torrington line. Not expecting much development from this, though a
stray shower or two may develop. Will maintain the inherited Red
Flag Warning through early this evening as trends show decreasing
humidities and increasing winds. A shortwave trough aloft moving
across eastern Montana will send the next cold front into our
northern counties late, though with little sensible weather and only
a wind shift to the north. Relatively mild overnight with decent low
level mixing. 40 to 50 knot 700 mb flow develops after midnight, and
based on the local wind model and 850 and 700 mb Craig to Casper
height differences, we expect winds to pick up near Arlington and
Elk Mountain, though confidence not high enough to upgrade at this
time and so will leave the current High Wind Watch in effect.
Wednesday...As the cold front moves further south, with low level
upslope developing, temperatures will be somewhat cooler, and 700 mb
temperatures near 1 Celsius yielding maximum temperatures in the
upper 50s and lower 60s. Will need to keep an eye on winds and
relative humidity for Carbon and Albany Counties in the afternoon
for elevated fire weather concerns.
Wednesday night...Expecting a cooler night compared to the previous
night in the cooler airmass behind the cold front.
Thursday-Thursday night...A warming trend begins as 700 mb
temperatures rise to near 4 Celsius. As a shortwave trough moves
overhead near peak heating and a low level convergence boundary sets
up over our southern counties, it looks like scattered showers
should develop in the afternoon and evening south of a Rawlins to
Alliance line in the vicinity of a low and mid level theta-e ridge
axis. The showers will continue into the evening hours, and then
continue over the southern Nebraska Panhandle after midnight.
&&
.LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
Issued at 134 PM MDT Tue Apr 7 2026
Unsettled weather looks to develop during the long term forecast
period with numerous waves of energy and precipitation chances from
Friday through Tuesday of next week. The culprit for the persistent
active weather will be a large upper-level low pressure system which
will move into the Pacific coast and remain generally stationary for
several days. Upper-level troughing with lower heights will be the
norm across the Rocky Mountain region. Friday will likely be the
driest day in the period as the main region of energy and lift
remains fairly well to the west. However, increasing mid-level
moisture and surface heating will result in low-end instability over
the higher terrain of southern Wyoming (around 500 J/kg of SBCAPE)
and a few isolated afternoon showers and possibly some thunder will
be possible. On Saturday, ensemble guidance is in good agreement
showing seasonably high moisture return in the high plains of
Nebraska and into far southeast Wyoming. With increasing westerly
flow aloft ahead of the upper-level low, surface south to
flow, and around 500-800 J/kg of SBCAPE, a few
isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms are possible to the
east of the I-25 corridor. While greater moisture return will likely
remain well to the south of our region, this overall setup does
favor a few isolated stronger storms which may be capable of some of
the first small hail (less than 1/2 inch) of the year in the high
plains.
Forecast confidence decreases from Sunday onward as the exact
details of the movement of the broad upper-level low become quite
muddled and varied in ensemble guidance. There is generally good
support for continued troughing in the west from Sunday through
Tuesday, however a push of slightly drier air on Sunday behind a
vort max may help keep the forecast mostly dry this day. Renewed
shower and thunderstorm activity is possible on Monday and Tuesday
as most guidance brings the core of the upper-level system through
the eastern Rockies and High Plains by this time. However, the exact
track and strength of any surface cyclogenesis east of the mountains
will ultimately determine how much precipitation falls. While
drought-busting rains are not likely, precipitation should run above-
average in the long term with the potential for most locations to
pick up at least a half of an inch of liquid by mid-next-week.
&&
.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY/...
Issued at 552 PM MDT Tue Apr 7 2026
VFR conditions expected over the next 24 hours. Diurnally driven
winds will relax tonight with most sites around 10-12 knots and
shifting to a more northwesterly to northerly direction by
tomorrow. Cloud decks remain high and will clear this evening,
with the return of some generally high to occasionally mid
based decks, with the lower decks from very weak passing showers
primarily near KCYS/KLAR.
&&
.CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WY...Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for WYZ417-418-
432-433.
High Wind Warning from midnight tonight to 3 PM MDT Wednesday
for WYZ110.
NE...None.
&&
SHORT TERM...RUBIN
LONG TERM...MAC
AVIATION...CGHazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Cheyenne WY 143 PM MDT Tue Apr 7 2026 NEZ002-003-019>021-054-055-095-096-WYZ101>119-081200- Dawes County-Box Butte County-Scotts Bluff County-Banner County- Morrill County-Kimball County-Cheyenne County- Northern Sioux County-Southern Sioux County- 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- 143 PM MDT Tue Apr 7 2026 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of panhandle Nebraska...east central Wyoming...south central Wyoming and southeast Wyoming. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY A Red Flag Warning is in effect for northern portions of southeast Wyoming until 8 PM this evening. A High Wind Watch is in effect for the North Snowy Range Foothills including Arlington and Elk Mountain starting at midnight and extending until 3 PM Wednesday afternoon. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY Winds will increase across Southeast Wyoming into Wednesday, increasing fire weather concerns and the potential for strong winds in the wind prone areas. Greater precipitation chances return to southern Wyoming and western Nebraska into the weekend, with confidence in precipitation amounts remaining low. .Spotter information statement... Spotter activation will not be needed.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Frequent gust of 60 to 65 MPH were recorded along Interstate 80 from WYDOT sensors. A maximum gust of 67 MPH from a WYDOT sensor at Strouss Hill was recorded at 3:16 AM MDT on 4/8.
A maximum wind gust of 61 MPH was observed at a UPR sensor (2 WNW Buford) at 5:19 AM MDT on 4/8.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, April 2026
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: 1324151, 1324152.