The combination of a passing shortwave trough and strong jet stream aloft produced high winds across portions of central Wyoming. The highest wind gusts occurred in the Bighorn Mountains of Johnson County, where the School House RAWS site had a maximum wind gust of 85 mph.
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The episode as NWS RIW wrote it up.
The combination of a passing shortwave trough and strong jet stream aloft produced high winds across portions of central Wyoming. The highest wind gusts occurred in the Bighorn Mountains of Johnson County, where the School House RAWS site had a maximum wind gust of 85 mph. The strong wind was accompanied by heavy snow showers at times, bringing reduced visibility and wintry travel conditions.
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 15, 12:20 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Riverton WY 1220 PM MST Thu Jan 15 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Warm and breezy conditions persist across the Cowboy State today. - A nearing cold front will usher in cooler temperatures as early as this evening. Winds will increase with the front with strong gusty winds possible especially in parts of Johnson County. - Isolated showers may be possible in association with the frontal passage this evening through early Friday morning. - Mild temperatures and mainly quiet conditions return for the weekend through the first half of next week. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1158 AM MST Thu Jan 15 2026 Not much has changed regarding the short term forecast with the previous discussion explaining the setup well. Winds do look to increase through the afternoon and evening today as the cold front nears the area. The strongest gusts remain across portions of Johnson County, where High Wind Warnings are in effect. Confidence is lacking to issue additional highlights for parts of the Bighorn Basin and Natrona County. That being said there still may be some strong gusts of 50 mph or more at times in these locations. Some isolated showers may be possible as the front passes this evening into the early morning hours Friday. The best chances 30-60% for a brief shower look to be across portions of the Bighorn Basin, Johnson, and Natrona Counties. Fremont County may see a very isolated shower with chances around 20-40%. Precipitation should dissipate by sunrise on Friday with most remaining dry throughout the day. High temperatures for Friday have trended cooler with the current forecast being temperatures ranging from the mid 20s to mid 30s. The coldest temperatures look to be over western WY and across Johnson and Natrona Counties. The weekend looks to be mostly dry with temperatures remaining mild but cooler than we have seen over the past few days. A few isolated showers cannot be ruled out Sunday as a disturbance moves across the central CONUS. Otherwise mild and mostly quiet weather prevails through the first half of next week. Looking farther towards the second half of the week a potential pattern shift remains possible. However, models have begun to deviate, leading to lesser confidence on just how long this break in the pattern may last. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 202 AM MST Thu Jan 15 2026 Satellite water vapor imagery at 09Z shows three distinct features that will influence the weather across Wyoming through Saturday. The first is the upper level ridge centered over northern California, keeping northwesterly flow aloft. The second feature is a weak disturbance embedded in the northwest flow traversing over southern Montana as of 09Z. The third feature is potent shortwave trough, with limited moisture, over eastern Washington. The weak disturbance, the second feature mentioned, will shift into northern Wyoming early this morning through roughly 10AM. This disturbance will provide support for gusty 25 mph to 35 mph winds across northern Johnson County and wind prone high elevations. Behind this disturbance, winds aloft become more northerly and the surface pressure gradient will be tightening ahead of an approaching cold front. Thus, a windy afternoon is in store for much of the area with widespread gusts of 15 mph to 25 mph across many low elevation areas. Gusts of 30 mph to 45 mph are forecast across north/northwesterly wind prone locations such as northern Johnson County, the Cody Foothills, portions of Natrona County, and high elevations. The aforementioned cold front and potent shortwave trough will traverse, north to south, across the state between 3PM and 11PM today. Along and behind the front, winds will increase even more, especially across northern Johnson County, as a strong, northerly upper level jet positions itself over the state. There is high confidence (90%) that the strongest winds will occur over Johnson County late this evening through at least Friday evening due to a 60kt to 70kt 700mb wind maximum directly over this area. For Johnson County, sustained winds of 25 mph to 40 mph and gusts around 60 mph are expected (90%+ chance) from 3PM this afternoon through Friday evening. Thus, the High Wind Watch has been upgraded to a High Wind Warning valid from 3PM Thursday through 5PM Friday. Another area of interest during this time frame is the Bighorn Basin, given the favorable northerly flow. Northerly winds of 20 mph to 35 mph, with 75% chance of gusts of 40 mph, are forecast behind the front and on Friday. A gust of 50 mph is not completely out of question (25% to 30% chance), however, any gusts above 50 mph are unlikely given the 700mb wind maximum is farther east. On Friday, there is an 80% chance of 40 mph gusts across Natrona County. Most other locations across the state will have a windy Thursday evening with and for a few hours behind the front with gusts between 25 mph and 35 mph. Star Valley and Jackson Hole Valley will likely (90%+ chance) be spared of any gusts at all between now and Friday evening. The second story with the cold frontal passage is the accompanying colder, near season temperatures. High temperatures today/Thursday are forecast to be 15 to 25 degrees above normal, especially east of the Divide, with highs in the upper 40s to 50s. At sunset this evening, mean 700mb temperatures are forecast to be anywhere from - 1C to -6C. By sunrise on Friday, behind the front, forecasted mean 700mb temperatures drop to -9C across southwest Wyoming to near -20C across northeastern portions. This means temperatures Friday morning will be in the single digits across west Wyoming and teens to low 20s (Fahrenheit) elsewhere. High temperatures on Friday are forecast to be 20 to 30 degrees colder compared to this afternoon's / Thursday's high temperatures, especially east of the Divide. However, Friday's temperatures will be more representative of "normal" mid January highs. The third and final story with the cold front are the light precipitation chances (20% to 40%) with and behind the front across Johnson and Natrona Counties, the Bighorns, Casper Mountain, and other high elevations east of the Divide. Precipitation will begin as light rain across northern Johnson County before transitioning to light snow. Accumulations will be light as this is not a very saturated system. There is a 70% chance of 0.5 inches and a 40% chance of 1 inch across northern Johnson County. Other low elevation areas of Johnson and Natrona Counties will be lucky to see 0.5 inches. A windy night can be expected Friday night into Saturday with the upper level jet still overhead. However, we have opted to not extend the High Wind Warning into Friday night at this time due to weakening 700 mb winds. There is a good consensus that the west CONUS ridge will remain in place from Sunday through at least mid next week, ultimately keeping most of the area precipitation free. Temperatures over the weekend are forecast to in the 30s and 40s. Guidance has been hinting that a weak, mostly dry cold front will traverse the area late Sunday into Monday. This front will likely only bring Monday's high temperatures down a few degrees compared to Sunday. There is a reasonable amount of confidence (around 60%) that mild temperatures will return on Tuesday. There is early indication that the west CONUS ridge will shift east by Thursday and bring a return of westerly flow. This would mean that the region will be able to tap into Pacific moisture and potentially bring a return of snow to western Wyoming by late next week. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 1015 AM MST Thu Jan 15 2026 Winds begin to increase in the first couple hours of the period, ahead of an incoming cold front. A mostly clear sky to start the period sees increasing high clouds as well through this afternoon, with greater cloud cover with the front starting this evening. The main weather impact will be from the cold front, which moves in from the north after 22z/Thu. Gusty north winds are expected, strongest with the front and a few hours after, but prolonged gusty winds are expected into Friday. Though it is a mostly dry front, (besides increased cloud cover) a few snow showers are possible around KCPR (70% between 02z and 06z) and KCOD (25% between 01z and 05z), with lesser chances at KLND and KWRL due to dry downsloping. At KJAC, going with a persistent forecast for fog again tonight, but with increasing clouds, chances are lower. However, there is enough support to include in the TAF. Please see the Aviation Weather Center and/or CWSU ZDV and ZLC for the latest information on icing and turbulence forecasts. && .RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 5 PM MST Friday for WYZ010-011. && UPDATE...Dziewaltowski DISCUSSION...Gerhardt AVIATION...Wittmann
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Riverton WY 213 AM MST Thu Jan 15 2026 WYZ001>020-022>030-161315- Yellowstone National Park-Absaroka Mountains-Cody Foothills- North Bighorn Basin-Southwest Bighorn Basin-Southeast Bighorn 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- 213 AM MST Thu Jan 15 2026 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM MST FRIDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Western and Central Wyoming. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Widespread northerly wind gusts of 25 mph to 40 mph expected east of the Continental Divide. By the early afternoon, gusts of 45 mph to 60 mph are anticipated across Johnson County, especially northern Johnson County, and across portions of the Bighorn Basin. The strongest winds are expected to impact Buffalo and I-90. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Friday...Northerly wind gusts of 40 mph to around 60 mph are expected across Johnson County, especially northern Johnson County, and across portions of the Bighorn Basin. The strongest winds are expected to impact Buffalo and I-90. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous locations around Buffalo had maximum wind gusts over 75 mph. Some notable gusts included 79 mph at Indian Creek along Interstate 90 and 78 mph at the Johnson County airport.
A maximum wind gust of 64 mph occurred at the Purdy East site to the west of Interstate 25.
High wind occurred across portions of Natrona County. Some of the more notable gusts included 72 mph at Scenic Drive and 62 mph at the Natrona County airport.
The Willow Creek RAWS site had a maximum wind gust of 70 mph. The Greybull Airport had a wind gust of 63 mph.
A maximum wind gust of 85 mph occurred at the School House RAWS site.
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, January 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: 1313888, 1313889, 1313890, 1313886, 1313887.