948
FXUS65 KRIW 270434
AFDRIW
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
934 PM MST MON JAN 26 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- WARMER, BUT STILL FREEZING, TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TONIGHT DUE
TO INCREASED CLOUD COVER.
- THE TREND WILL BE FOR WARMING TEMPERATURES THIS WEEK, WITH
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY MID-WEEK.
- A FEW WEAK WEATHER SYSTEMS THIS WEEK COULD (15 TO 30 PERCENT
CHANCES) BRING LIGHT SNOW CHANCES, MAINLY FOR MOUNTAINS.
- THE LONG RANGE OUTLOOK IS FAVORING A MILD AND DRY START TO
FEBRUARY.
UPDATE
ISSUED AT 1124 AM MST MON JAN 26 2026
NO MAJOR CHANGES NEEDED WITH THIS UPDATE. TRANSITORY HIGH PRESSURE
BRINGS A PERIOD OF WARM AND GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS TO START THE
WEEK. HAVE KEPT HIGH TEMPERATURES LOWER TODAY FOR BASINS AND
VALLEYS WITH NO WIND, BUT EVEN THE CURRENT TEMPERATURE FORECAST
COULD BE A BIT HIGH. LOCATIONS WITH GUSTY WINDS SEE DECREASING
SPEEDS THIS EVENING AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.
DISCUSSION
ISSUED AT 154 AM MST MON JAN 26 2026
ANOTHER CHILLY START TO THE DAY ACROSS MUCH OF THE COWBOY STATE. THE
COLDEST TEMPERATURES ARE LINGERING OVER LOWER LYING BASINS WHERE A
FRESH LIGHT COATING OF SNOW FELL SUNDAY. THIS INCLUDES PORTIONS OF
THE BIGHORN AND WIND RIVER BASINS, ALONG WITH JACKSON HOLE AND
STAR VALLEY. TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING IN THESE LOCATIONS HAVE
REALLY BOTTOMED OUT WITH VALUES RANGING FROM 0 TO -10F. WORLAND
HAS BEEN THE COLD SPOT OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES
THIS MORNING SITTING AROUND -13F. OTHER LOCATIONS, SUCH AS THE
CODY FOOTHILLS AND PARTS OF JOHNSON AND NATRONA COUNTIES, ARE
SEEING TEMPERATURES GRADUALLY WARM. THIS IS DUE TO BREEZY WINDS
ALLOWING WARMING 700MB TEMPERATURES TO MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE.
ONE INTERESTING EXAMPLE OF THIS IS CASPER WHERE IN TOWN
TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 20S WITH WINDS GUSTING AROUND 30 MPH.
WHILE TO THE EAST IN DOUGLAS TEMPERATURES ARE CURRENTLY SITTING
AROUND -20 WITH LITTLE TO NO WIND.
THE VARIATION IN TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY CONTINUE THROUGH THE
DAYTIME TODAY WITH WINDS GREATLY INFLUENCING THE DEGREE OF WARMING
THAT WILL OCCUR. DUE TO THIS, FORECASTING HOW WARM SOME LOCATIONS
GET TODAY MAY BE QUITE TRICKY. HIGHS MONDAY WILL RANGE FROM THE LOW
20S TO POSSIBLY UPPER 30S NEARING 40 IN SOME LOCATIONS. THE WARMEST
TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO BE ACROSS JOHNSON AND NATRONA COUNTY
ALONG WITH PORTIONS OF THE CODY FOOTHILLS AND SOUTHERN WY.
THESE LOCATIONS ALSO ARE FORECAST TO SEE THE STRONGEST WINDS OF
20 TO 30 MPH WITH PERIODIC GUSTS NEAR 40 MPH. IF THESE WINDS
MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE WIND RIVER BASIN AND THE BIGHORN BASIN
THEN TEMPERATURES THERE WOULD LIKELY ALSO WARM. HOWEVER, THE
CURRENT THINKING IS THAT WINDS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO GET THESE
LOCATIONS TO MIX, LEADING TO COOLER HIGHS. TEMPERATURES WILL
LIKELY MODERATE BY TUESDAY WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
RETURNING TO NEARLY ALL OF THE STATE. HIGHS ARE FORECAST TO GET
BACK INTO THE MID 30S TO MID 40S AS A RESULT OF RIDGING BUILDING
BACK IN OVER THE WESTERN CONUS. MILD AND MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS
PERSIST THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK.
AS MENTIONED EARLIER, RIDGING ONCE AGAIN BUILDS BACK OVER THE
WESTERN CONUS. THIS RIDGE IS NOT LOOKING ALL TOO POTENT WHICH
MAY ALLOW FOR A FEW WEAKER DISTURBANCES TO MOVE THROUGH DURING
THE WEEK. HOWEVER, THESE DISTURBANCES LOOK TO BE VERY
DISORGANIZED LEADING TO MINIMAL PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND IF ANY
PRECIPITATION WAS TO OCCUR, IT WOULD LIKELY BE MAINLY LIMITED
TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. A MORE POTENT RIDGE LOOKS TO BUILD IN
BY THE END OF THE WEEK. THIS LEADS TO THE POTENTIAL FOR WELL
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO DEVELOP BY THE END OF THE MONTH
INTO THE START OF FEBRUARY. EARLY INDICATIONS SHOW HIGHS
POSSIBLY GETTING BACK INTO THE 50S, WHICH WOULD BE NEARLY 20
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. SO UNFORTUNATELY, AFTER A PROMISING PERIOD
OF MORE WINTER-LIKE CONDITIONS, THE ALL TOO FAMILIAR MILD AND
MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS MIGHT RETURN FOR THE START OF FEBRUARY.
AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/
ISSUED AT 930 PM MST MON JAN 26 2026
LEE ENHANCED CLOUDS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE CENTRAL BASINS
AND EASTERN SWEETWATER COUNTY THROUGH THE REST OF THE NIGHT.
CLOUDS WILL BEGIN TO SCATTER AND CLEAR OVER WESTERN PORTIONS
AFTER 12Z, SPREADING OVER THE REST OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH
21Z. HIGH CLOUDS WILL THEN SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST AFTER 00Z.
NORTHWEST DRAINAGE WINDS WILL CONTINUE AT KRIW, WITH GUSTS
AROUND 25KT, THROUGH SUNRISE TUESDAY MORNING BECOMING SUSTAINED
AROUND 12KT. SIMILAR WEST WINDS WILL ALSO CONTINUE AT KCOD
THROUGH 16Z. WINDS WILL ALSO REMAIN ELEVATED, SUSTAINED AROUND
13KT, AT KCPR AND KRKS THROUGH 21Z. WINDS WILL INCREASE FOR
SEVERAL LOCATIONS AFTER 18Z, WITH GUSTS AROUND 15KT OCCURRING AT
KBPI/KPNA AND KRIW BETWEEN 19 AND 21Z. SLIGHTLY HIGHER GUSTS OF
20-25KT WILL RETURN TO KCPR AND KRKS DURING THIS SAME TIMEFRAME.
THESE WINDS WILL DECREASE AND BECOME LIGHT (11KT OR LESS) BY
SUNSET.
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
NONE.
UPDATE...WITTMANN
DISCUSSION...DZIEWALTOWSKI
AVIATION...LAVOIE
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PREVIOUS BULLETINS.
Main Text Page