Snow, -25 Windchills Forecast For Cheyenne [VIDEO]

The National Weather Service office in Cheyenne is predicting southeast Wyoming will be blasted with two waves of windy, snowy winter weather and extremely cold wind chills starting today.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for Cheyenne through 3 a.m. Thursday (Dec. 15)

Forecasters say snow will begin today (Wednesday), with the Laramie Range expected to see the first wave of snow around 1 p.m. Snow will spread east of the Laramie Range by 3 p.m.:

Snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches expected across the lower elevations. lowest across western Nebraska and highest near the mountains of SE Wyoming.
Winds will initially be light and variable through late Wednesday evening. However, winds could really begin to increase Wednesday evening and continue through Thursday. Wind gusts to +60MPH likely for the wind prone areas (Arlington, Bordeaux, south Laramie Range) as the arctic front retreats eastward. Outside the wind prone areas, wind gusts of 50-55 MPH are possible at Cheyenne and Laramie during the day Thursday. This may create a period of blowing snow during the Thursday morning rush hour.

Impacts:

Snow Accumulations will result in slick and icy roadways for most of SE Wyoming and portions of western Nebraska.
Blowing snow will not be a problem early; however, strong southwest winds behind the retreating cold front may result in several hours of blowing snow late Wednesday night and Thursday morning along and west of the Interstate 25 corridor (SE Wyoming only).
Thankfully, temperatures rise rapidly into the 40's on Thursday, which may limit overall snow impacts to the early morning hours.

Forecasters then expect the area to be hit with a second blast on Friday:

(Moderate Confidence) Timing of the start of snow should be earlier on Friday north of Interstate 80, with later start times further south near Colorado.
(Increasing Confidence) Snow accumulations Significant accumulations (greater than 6 inches along and north of a line from Chadron to Wheatland to Rawlins. 4-5 inches along and north of a line from Bridgeport to Cheyenne to Dixon to the 6" line. Finally 2-4 " for the southern Nebraska Panhandle.
(High Confidence) Bitter cold air will rapidly move into the area as early as Thursday evening further north, and by Friday afternoon further south and west. Temperatures may rapidly fall below zero Friday afternoon and Friday night. Highs Saturday will struggle to climb into the low single digits above zero. Wind Chill Temperatures between 25 below to 35 below zero are likely question across the whole area. Prolonged exposure to these cold temperatures and windchills will lead to frostbite and hypothermia.

Impacts:

Slick and snow-packed roads expected. Timing of the onset of snow will be key on Friday as it may impact the morning commute as well as the evening commute north of Interstate 80.
Snow and some blowing snow may greatly impact visibility, especially for the Friday evening commute,
Bitter cold temperatures and wind chill temperatures will result in an increasing risk for frost bite and hypothermia. This will occur into Sunday morning, potentially impacting holiday shoppers.

Filed Under: winter weather

Categories: Features