Winter Weather Alerts 2013-14 (First post web cams) (Cheyenne, Casper: power lines, transporting)

[ElkHunter]

Climate History For any town
UNITED STATES CLIMATE NORMALS 1981-2010

Recreational Weather Forecast (Find the weather forecast for your favorite fishing hole) (Brand new, they may not have populated your area yet.)
National Weather Service - Western Region Headquarters

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Nebraska
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http://www2.dorstate.ne.us/Webcams/Default.aspx

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[ElkHunter]

What is Wind Chill?
It is the temperature it "Feels like" outside and is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the effects of wind and cold. As the wind increases, the body is cooled at a faster rate causing the skin temperature to drop. Wind Chill does not impact inanimate objects like car radiators and exposed water pipes, because these objects cannot cool below actual air temperature.

What is Frostbite?
Frostbite is an injury to the body caused by freezing body tissue. The most susceptible parts of the body are the extremities such as fingers, toes, ear lobes, or the tip of the nose. Symptoms include loss of feeling in the extremity and a white or pale appearance. Medical attentions is needed immediately for frostbite. The area should be SLOWLY re-warmed.

What is Hypothermia?
Hypothermia is abnormally low body temperature (below 95 degrees Fahrenheit). Warning signs include uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness, and apparent exhaustion. Medical attention is needed immediately. If it is not available, begin warming the body SLOWLY.

Tips on how to dress during cold weather.
- Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing. Trapped air between the layers will insulate you. Outer garments should be tightly woven, water repellent, and hooded.
- Wear a hat, because 40% of your body heat can be lost from your head.
- Cover your mouth to protect your lungs from extreme cold.
- Mittens, snug at the wrist, are better than gloves.
- Try to stay dry and out of the wind.

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Advisory
(Abbrev. ADVY)- Highlights special weather conditions that are less serious than a warning. They are for events that may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.

Watch
A watch is used when the risk of a hazardous weather or hydrologic event has increased significantly, but its occurrence, location, and/or timing is still uncertain. It is intended to provide enough lead time so that those who need to set their plans in motion can do so.

Warning
A warning is issued when a hazardous weather or hydrologic event is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring. A warning is used for conditions posing a threat to life or property.

Storm
Any disturbed state of the atmosphere, especially affecting the Earth's surface, and strongly implying destructive and otherwise unpleasant weather. Storms range in scale from tornadoes and thunderstorms to tropical cyclones to synoptic-scale extratropical cyclones.

Blizzard
(abbrev. BLZD)- A blizzard means that the following conditions are expected to prevail for a period of 3 hours or longer:

Sustained wind or frequent gusts to 35 miles an hour or greater; and
Considerable falling and/or blowing snow (i.e., reducing visibility frequently to less than ¼ mile)

[ElkHunter]

[ElkHunter]

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON THURSDAY TO MIDNIGHT MDT FRIDAY NIGHT
UNTIL 3:00PM MDT
Urgent - Winter Weather Message
National Weather Service Billings MT
249 PM MDT Wed Oct 2 2013

Southern Big Horn-Sheridan Foothills-
Including The Locations Of... Lodge Grass... Pryor... Wyola...
Fort Smith... Sheridan... Dayton... Ranchester... Big Horn... Story...
Clearmont

... Winter Storm Warning In Effect From Noon Thursday To Midnight
Mdt Friday Night...

The National Weather Service In Billings Has Issued A Winter
Storm Warning For Heavy Snow... Which Is In Effect From Noon
Thursday To Midnight MDT Friday Night.

* Timing... Rain And Snow Will Develop Late Tonight And Become All
Snow By Thursday Afternoon. Snow Will Be Heavy At Times Through
Thursday Night Continuing Into The Day On Friday.

* Snow Accumulation... Heavy Wet Snowfall Of 8 To 14 Inches With
Locally Higher Amounts Possible By Late Thursday Night.

* Winds... Northeast Winds 15 To 30 Mph.

* Impacts... Difficult Travel Conditions Are Expected But The Main
Threat Will Be Downed Power Lines And Tree Damage Due To The
Heavy Wet Snow. Power Outages Are Likely. Cold And Wet
Conditions Will Be Hazardous For Unprepared Hunters.

Precautionary/Preparedness Actions...

A Winter Storm Warning Means A Significant Amount Of Snow Is
Expected Or Occurring. Strong Winds Are Also Possible. This Will
Make Travel Very Hazardous Or Impossible.

[sunsprit]

Lots of Road Closures and No Unnecessary Travel postings throughout the state right now due to "winter conditions".

Pretty early in the season for such a modest storm in progress at this point.

Notable to see that Casper Westward is closed due to this storm.

[ElkHunter]

From Sheridan, I-90 closed to the South Dakota State Line. Hwy 14/16 no travel advised to Ucross. Buffalo, Hwy 16 over the mountain closed and I-25 Closed Southbound to Casper. From Ranchester, Hwy 14 over the mountain closed.

Sheridan got hit a lot worse than Ranchester Our roads are all open except the one going over the mountain. In Sheridan, schools closed, banks closed, library closed, and most business's. Power is out in several areas of Sheridan.

In Ranchester, we only got about 2 inches of wet heavy stuff. Our willow trees are laying down, but I haven't seen any busted trees, yet, it's still snowing. 2 inches of snow with 1.19 inches of moisture in it.

Here's my rain guage:




Willow trees in front of my Cabin.




Willow trees across the river.

[ElkHunter]

I forgot to mention. I got all the road reports this morning and there was actually some travel allowed on I-90. All roads in and out of Rozett were closed, except I-90 to Moorecraft. All roads in and out of Moorecraft were closed except I-90 to Rozett.

Later they announced I-90 closed all the way from Sheridan to the South Dakota State Line.

[sunsprit]

This set of "winter storm conditons" has essentially shut down all of the major roads in the Central to Eastern portion of WY.

Looking at the WYOROAD Map, I-25, I-90, I-80 all have substantial closures and the weather forecasts suggest that they won't be opening up for awhile.

After all the discussion on some recent threads bashing me for saying that road closures can and do occur that can last for more than just a few hours in North Central (if not other areas of the state) ... the road closures now suggest that I was right. The sun, the traffic, the warm roads ... and years of transporting railroad crews doesn't square with what I'm seeing right now for the length of the closure or the severity of the road conditions ....

We'd planned on heading to a ranch auction today in Torrington which has been postponed 'til tomorrow. My bet is that the roads conditions will still make it impossible and they'll postpone again.

[ElkHunter]

Well to harp on it post after post gets old. Since I got back here in 1992, this is, by far, the worst storm to hit the area. the last storm that even came close to this was in 1997 when we got about 30 inches. Absolutely nothing close since then.

Right? Hardly. Not for this area. Maybe for your area, but not where I live.

[sunsprit]

Well, I understand the frustration that the weather topic can bring to the forum ...

But the weather problems are persistent, significant, and a common concern expressed by many considering Wyoming, posting on this forum.

Perhaps a site that I've referred to will put some light as to the frequency, severity, damages, and shed some further light in this discussion about where in Wyoming the most serious storms frequently strike ....

To quote their premise:

"Wyoming Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 19.67 June 2011

Impacts
Winter storms usually cover a significant part of the state, and as such are difficult to describe regionally. The historic dollar impact of winter storms is around $161.6 million. In 2006 dollars, the impact is about $428 million. The actual impacts are much greater because of the effects on transportation and because of loss of life and injuries. The impacts from loss of livestock can carry over for many years.

Future Impacts
The history of winter storms in Wyoming indicates for a worst case scenario the dollar impacts could be as high as $210.6 million in 2010 dollars (based upon the April 25-27, 1984 storm), the loss of life could be as high as 17 to 20, enough power lines could be toppled that emergency intervention could be required, thousands of travelers could be stranded, and the livestock industry could lose 15 to 20 percent of its inventory.

There is a reasonable possibility a significant winter storm will occur each year in Wyoming."

and I'd add that their own records show some years (relatively recent, in the 1980's-1990's) having 5 or more major storm events.


Significantly, there were more of these in the last couple of decades than most of the century before then. IIRC, yrs 2000, 2010, and 2011 all had major storms in the NC area of WY.

Keep in mind that these are just the pinnacle of damaging storms, not the more common ones that blow through and cause temporary road closures throughout a typical season. Many of the listed storms covered 1/4-1/3 of the state.

Interesting to note that most of the damaging storms historically struck in NCentral and the NE or NW portions of the state rather than down here in the extreme SE corner.

PS: I've been traveling this region as a sales/service rep since 1964 and I've seen many winter hazard situations where the roads were kept open in prior years that now will bring about a road closure.