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That map is bogus. Wind is worse in Cheyenne than Laramie but according to that map it's like living in RS, I don't think so! I've seen this before and wondered how they're gathering their info.
This is the difference between your limited observations and actual gathering of data over an extensive time period by several sources. The data is used for weather forecasting, aviation use, power generation information, and many other govt functions.
RKS has two reporting stations, one in town and one at the airport, that continuously gather data 24/7 and have done so for many years. The RKS airport used to have a NWS station, too, so there was a log of first-hand observations made by the folk there.
Your assertion that the winds don't reach town doesn't make much sense for winds except for a very limited area blocked by adjacent terrain. The climate data for the area shows almost identical amounts of moisture, snow fall, and temperatures, etc ... in town at the reporting site and at the airport. Yet you assert a different climate exists in town than the airport. Between the airport and town, there's 5 miles of virtually desolate open prairie with no feature that blocks the frontal passages.
I've been flying into or driving through this area for 4 decades, and have been weathered in more than a dozen times at RKS. Stayed at the FBO when it was allowed to do so, have camped out in the area, and have used the airport cars to head into town for meals when I was stranded there. My experience has been that if the weather was crappy at the airport, it was crappy in town, too.
I can understand your report that the winds in RKS are less than in the wind corridor between Laramie and Cheyenne ... but I also can point to the chart and show that is consistent with the measured/reported winds of the area. I can't do that with your comparison of RKS to Cheyenne. And I do know folk in Cheyenne who don't consider it especially windy ... where they live in the Avenues; outside of town, yes ... but not in Cheyenne where they live.
Looking at the frontal passage coming across Southern Wyoming right now:
RKS showing 12 kts out of the SW, while Cheyenne is at 10 kts and forecast to drop to about 4 kts in the light rain and fog through the night.
RKS forecast to have increasing wind out of 240 at 15 kts, gusting to 25 later this evening with the lowered visibility and moisture. The frontal passage will have a wind shift to out of the NE, but maintain the gusty winds after the frontal passage.
Lurking here in the Wyoming site occasionally and it's funny how a thread about moving a heavy equipment repair business quickly devolves into arguments about which area is windier in Wyoming. I sincerely think Wyoming is one of the most beautiful and dramatic places I've been to and has the most incredible skies, I have visited often and even enjoyed Frontier Days a few times.
But I am reminded of my Mom's recollections of growing up there in Lost Springs (yeah, that Lost Springs- Population 1) and her face would always get that kind of crazed and far away look as she quietly said, "the wind, the wind..."
I've been quiet so far as I've been detained elsewhere.
I spent 18 years in San Diego in the US Navy and then returned to Sheridan Wyoming. I worked construction and was in the elements every day prior to going in the service. We built coal mines in Decker Mt, Gillette Wy, and Hanna Wy, and believe me, I know about wind.
No matter how much you think you are prepared for cold weather, you are kidding yourself. The time I spent in Cal aclimated me and it was tough coming back up here. But there is too many things that draw me to cold, snow and this climate. The hunting, skiing, hiking, etc... So I come back and it took me the first winter to get back in touch with reality.
I live in the Sheridan area where there is very little wind. Anybody that says the I-80 corridor doesn't have wind isn't facing reality. Check last winters reports I posted, Just search for Winter Weather 2010 and read up on it. I-80 was closed numerous times in all areas of I-80. Not for accumulations but for blowing snow or just winds alone. That's the HIGHWAY department that did it, not just me saying it. In the Sheridan area, we had closed interstate 2 or 3 times and it was only closed for a few hours, not over night or for a day or two at a time like I-80 was.
Like Sunsprit mentioned though, because Sheridan is a better protected area from weather, it attracts people and business. We have several good diesel and heavy equipment mechanical shops and most have towing or roadside service. Also, the coal mine here has their own mechanics or factory reps that come to the site, so they are probably not a good candidate for being a possible customer. There are a lot of farmer/rancher operations that need mechanical assistance from time to time but they use long established business's in the area.
Gillette is a little windier then Sheridan as it's not protected by the Big Horn Mountains, but Gillette is someplace I've lived and woudn't mind living again. The wind is not bad there, by Wyoming standards. There is a lot of diesel and heavy equipment used in that area for not only the coal mines but for oil development and existing sites. I'm not familiar with the number of shops or available business to service their needs so that's something you'll have to research on your own unless somebody chimes in.
They are getting ready to run some pipeline from Douglas to Cheyenne and also do some operations in the Douglas area. Douglas is also an area that isn't real bad with wind. To the North, East, and West of Douglas the wind can be pretty bad, but for some reason Douglas doesn't catch it as bad as the surrounding area (just my observation on the limited number of times I've visited Douglas).
Casper is well established and has plenty of business to handle the local equipment.
Really can't tell you about the rest of the state. I've lived in Sheridan, Ranchester, Gillette, Newcastle, Wheatland, Cheyenne, Hanna, Casper, Rock Springs, and Evanston. I will tell you that you are not a big enough boy to make me go back to Evanston, Rock Springs, Casper, Hanna, or Cheyenne. Just didn't like the conditions while having to work outside in the elements.
Lurking here in the Wyoming site occasionally and it's funny how a thread about moving a heavy equipment repair business quickly devolves into arguments about which area is windier in Wyoming. I sincerely think Wyoming is one of the most beautiful and dramatic places I've been to and has the most incredible skies, I have visited often and even enjoyed Frontier Days a few times.
But I am reminded of my Mom's recollections of growing up there in Lost Springs (yeah, that Lost Springs- Population 1) and her face would always get that kind of crazed and far away look as she quietly said, "the wind, the wind..."
Good luck to the OP though.
Thank You for the response,Yeah I thought the thread was dead but hopefully we can revive it LOL.
I've been quiet so far as I've been detained elsewhere.
I spent 18 years in San Diego in the US Navy and then returned to Sheridan Wyoming. I worked construction and was in the elements every day prior to going in the service. We built coal mines in Decker Mt, Gillette Wy, and Hanna Wy, and believe me, I know about wind.
No matter how much you think you are prepared for cold weather, you are kidding yourself. The time I spent in Cal aclimated me and it was tough coming back up here. But there is too many things that draw me to cold, snow and this climate. The hunting, skiing, hiking, etc... So I come back and it took me the first winter to get back in touch with reality.
I live in the Sheridan area where there is very little wind. Anybody that says the I-80 corridor doesn't have wind isn't facing reality. Check last winters reports I posted, Just search for Winter Weather 2010 and read up on it. I-80 was closed numerous times in all areas of I-80. Not for accumulations but for blowing snow or just winds alone. That's the HIGHWAY department that did it, not just me saying it. In the Sheridan area, we had closed interstate 2 or 3 times and it was only closed for a few hours, not over night or for a day or two at a time like I-80 was.
Like Sunsprit mentioned though, because Sheridan is a better protected area from weather, it attracts people and business. We have several good diesel and heavy equipment mechanical shops and most have towing or roadside service. Also, the coal mine here has their own mechanics or factory reps that come to the site, so they are probably not a good candidate for being a possible customer. There are a lot of farmer/rancher operations that need mechanical assistance from time to time but they use long established business's in the area.
Gillette is a little windier then Sheridan as it's not protected by the Big Horn Mountains, but Gillette is someplace I've lived and woudn't mind living again. The wind is not bad there, by Wyoming standards. There is a lot of diesel and heavy equipment used in that area for not only the coal mines but for oil development and existing sites. I'm not familiar with the number of shops or available business to service their needs so that's something you'll have to research on your own unless somebody chimes in.
They are getting ready to run some pipeline from Douglas to Cheyenne and also do some operations in the Douglas area. Douglas is also an area that isn't real bad with wind. To the North, East, and West of Douglas the wind can be pretty bad, but for some reason Douglas doesn't catch it as bad as the surrounding area (just my observation on the limited number of times I've visited Douglas).
Casper is well established and has plenty of business to handle the local equipment.
Really can't tell you about the rest of the state. I've lived in Sheridan, Ranchester, Gillette, Newcastle, Wheatland, Cheyenne, Hanna, Casper, Rock Springs, and Evanston. I will tell you that you are not a big enough boy to make me go back to Evanston, Rock Springs, Casper, Hanna, or Cheyenne. Just didn't like the conditions while having to work outside in the elements.
Thank you for your extensive response I thought the thread had died LOL. Yes I am in the process of researching where we might be needed. This is the type of info I am looking for, I know everyone has their own opinion and that is ok just looking for any and all suggestions and info.
I understand your desire to move here, but I travel around the state pretty extensively and am not aware of any areas that lack for the business that you are trying to bring here.
If you are interested in any commercial work, i.e. energy companies, try Converse and/or Campbell counties. While there may be businesses like yours, there is definitely enough business for you.
Douglas would have milder climate than Wright or Gillette, but still has a booming energy industry. While energy boom is north of here, we are close enough to it in Douglas that electrician, mechanic, welding, heavy-equipment repair businesses are doing very well...with more work than they have time for.
sunsprit- my limited observations?? I guess living for several years in a place doesn't equate to any knowledge about the area or the weather.....
as well, I guess that you would assert that my decades of traveling in the area, flying into the airstrip, staying in the area motels when weathered in during my travels either by car or airplane ... "doesn't equate to any knowledge about the area or the weather". Right? everybody but you is ignorant, correct? Including the national weather services and those data generating points in the area which scientifically measure the winds and gusts?
Please tell us what brand and model airspeed indicator you use to measure wind velocities and peak gusts, OK? You do have one, don't you? and you read it and record it 24/7/365, don't you? So you have quantifiable recorded evidence of your claims re winds and gusts in the area, right?
Take a look at what your assertions amount to from another perspective:
Let's take a look at a map of the area, shall we? Follow along now, if you can: The airstrip sits a few miles to the East of town, out on the plains. There is no geological or topographical feature of significance that blocks the airflow from most points East of town on the plains to town. So when the airport reports official conditions of winds/gusts & visibility, I pay attention to their professional observations which are conducted 24/7/365 with Vestas equipment, the standard of the aviation and weather measuring industry. Indeed, aviation reports are legal and required to be obtained before I make any flight as part of my flight planning and awareness of conditions that affect my flight. As I do a lot of traveling between the Eastern plains and SLC on a typical route of flight along I-80, RKS is a standard point which receives my attention, including many days when I pull up the weather to make a go/no-go decision about a trip.
Similarly, I-80, on the immediate North side of town has nothing between it and town; even you have acknowledged that this can be pretty windy. But I don't use you as a resource to report that, I use the WYDOT condition reports for the weather because they've been rather reliable conditions indicators for decades. Anyway, let's look at that map again, shall we? Please tell us what topographical feature(s) block the area between the highway and the town of Rock Springs? Are there really any of significance in those few hundred yards? Are there any to the South of town that would cause an upslope condition of the winds and gusts from an Easterly or Northerly direction? Please advise what the obstructions are and the heights they reach compared to town.
As a final consideration ... your casual dismissal that the published wind energy density charts of the area are incorrect: Please identify how you have measured winds/gusts that are superior data collection to the professional measurements collected at great expense and upon which many business decisions have been made. Do you use a Ouija Board? Tea leaves in a bowl? A string tied to a stick? A hand-held anemometer? Other than your anecdotal observations, what do you rely upon to report something other than all the 24/7/365 professional data?
I know that the Cheyenne area is windy out here on the plains. How windy? well, I use a Davis hand held anemometer to get an idea. But for confirmation about conditions, I can call up the reporting stations at the airstrips in the area. It's called ATIS, FYI. These are automated weather reporting stations, and the information is gathered 24/7/365 for us pilots and official weather forecast/reporting, although anybody can call in or get the reported raw data online in real time. The other piece of the weather data puzzle is that I can pull up charts or current reports of barometric pressure, which gives me a very specific real time detail of the gradients across the region. For those of us whose lives can depend upon this as part of our aviation planning, it's a very important detail showing current frontal passages. I could get into a whole bunch of the other analyses which are part of the raw weather data collected, such as the lifted index ... but that's way beyond basic weather reporting and forecasting of conditions. I also use the on-line live radar and satellite reports. What you probably don't realize is that us folk flying light aircraft in the region aren't flying jets at high altitudes, but tend to fly around 1,000 - 1,500 feet AGL (ah, that's "above ground level"). With the wide open spaces here in Wyoming, it's legal to fly even lower than that at 500' AGL, and I've got a lot of friends who find no justification flying higher than that if the prevailing winds are headwinds or turbulent at higher elevations. At these altitudes and our slow speeds, we're able to make some pretty good observations about ground conditions ... whitecaps on bodies of water, smoke or dust from the surface, trails from cars and trucks on dirt roads, trees blowing in the wind, etc. On any given day when I've flying, I can see a lot more of an area than you can on the surface because I can only fly at those lower altitudes in VFR conditions (ah, that's Visual Flight Rules, where there's at least several miles of visibility).
Yet another resource I have accessible to me, which has proven to be most valuable for many years: Pilot reports. While there is an official reporting system which pilots in the air report the actual conditions they are experiencing, there's also a lot of chatter among GA pilots aloft. We are always interested in "what kind of ride" the other guy is experiencing to guide us to decisions about route of flight, altitudes, liklihood of adverse conditions, etc. So my eyes and ears are extended by a factor of who else is flying in my area. I can either monitor the official reporting radio to the FAA (flight watch), or I can contact another pilot directly on a discrete frequency used for air-to-air communications. Please note that I also receive ATIS data enroute from every reporting station to keep abreast of that information while enroute. As a final resource, I can simply radio the FAA and talk directly with a professional weather advisor about my route of flight. Most of these resources are legal, documented, and professionals in service 24/7/365, paid for by my aviation fuel taxes at the pump.
You'll also find that the wind energy production companies track wind data 24/7/365 because their livilihoods and operations depend upon this data. These are not casual observers, they are professionals with multi-million operating budgets at stake as well as the capital investment in the equipment, which runs into billions of dollars across the region.
So, please remind me ... how is it that you have so much better data than all the people and companies and federal agencies combined?
Last edited by sunsprit; 09-19-2011 at 09:39 PM..
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