SE Wyoming Winter Storm Watch Starts Wednesday Morning
Timothy Trudel of the Cheyenne office of the National Weather Service has issued the following statement on on the weather forecast for SE Wyoming:
"In addition to the very cold temperatures and bitter cold wind chills this week, forecast trends are showing increasing confidence for significant snowfall along the Interstate 80 corridor.
An arctic front will be almost stationary near the mountains, resulting in periods of light snow across southeast Wyoming through the day. This front will interact with a slow moving Pacific storm system Wednesday through early Thursday, resulting in widespread accumulating snowfall across all of southeast Wyoming and the southern Nebraska panhandle.
Timing: The snowfall may not completely come to an end over some locations across southeast Wyoming today, but expect snowfall to become more steady and heavier late tonight. Snow will begin/become heavier between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. early Wednesday morning and may impact the morning commute as well as the Wednesday evening commute.A Winter Storm Watch (valid 5 a.m. Wednesday through 5 a.m. Thursday) has been issued for:
- Southern Carbon county including Saratoga and Elk Mountain
- Southern Albany county including Laramie
- All of Laramie county including Cheyenne
- Southwest Platte county
Snow Accumulations: 5 to10 inches in the watch area with locally higher amounts possible. 2 to 5 inches elsewhere, but less than one inch north of a Douglas to Alliance line. Expect an additional 1 to 2 feet of snow in the Sierra Madre and Snowy Ranges.
Wind: Wind impacts appear minimal with north to northeast winds generally between 5 to 15 mph. Blowing snow is not expected and impacts from drifting snow will be low. However, any wind will greatly reduce the wind chill temperatures at these temperatures.
Impacts:
- Light to moderate snow resulting in visibility around one half mile will be widespread Wednesday through early Thursday.
- Heavy snow bands are likely with this event resulting in enhanced snowfall rates and visibility lowering to around one quarter mile at times.
- Slick and snow-packed roads Wednesday, Wednesday night, and possibly through Thursday.
- Bitter cold Wind Chill Temperatures between -15 to -30 Wednesday night & Thursday night will result in increasing risk for frost bite and hypothermia."