textproduct: Cheyenne

KEY MESSAGES

- Chances for scattered rain and snow showers will continue for portions of southeast Wyoming through this evening. Isolated thunder remains possible.

- Warmer and drier conditions are expected to return for Friday into the weekend with elevated fire weather concerns possible Friday and Saturday.

- Cooler weather returns by early next week as a messy and somewhat progressive pattern returns.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 230 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026

Sensible weather concerns are on the decline through the start of the weekend as troughing begins to exit with ridging building in. For the rest of today, the limited precipitation we have seen will begin declining, exiting to our south as the shortwave that produced this moves southwards as well and ridging from the west tries to build in. For tonight expect skies to clear from north to south with dry air building in, and clear conditions by Friday morning.

Beyond this, the building ridge will then be our primary weather feature through the start of the weekend. Spring warmth will rebound, with highs on Friday in the 50's and 60's, and then up into the 60's to 70's by Saturday, around 5 to 10 degrees above normal. Outside of this, the pressure gradient should remain weak for the most part, keeping winds fairly low to calm, and conditions remaining dry. That being said, the return of elevated fire weather concerns is expected as RH values drop into the 20's to teens on Friday, and then bottom out in the low teens on Saturday. Winds may peak around 15 to 20 mph gusts, but current forecast reasoning keeps stronger winds that would bring critical fire danger concerns out of the area, but something to keep an eye on in case pressure gradients strengthen early as ridging begins to flatten into the long term period.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 230 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026

- Cool and unsettled weather will prevail for Sunday through Tuesday, with a ridge aloft helping to produce drier and warmer weather for Wednesday and Thursday.

Sunday...Northwest flow aloft continues, and with a weak shortwave trough aloft moving across eastern Wyoming in the afternoon, we expect to see isolated showers and thunderstorms north of a Lusk to Chadron line, with dry conditions elsewhere. 700 mb temperatures near 5 Celsius will yield maximum temperatures in the mid 60s to lower 70s.

Monday...Another shortwave trough aloft moves nearby, and with adequate low and mid level moisture, we anticipate scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms mainly south of a Douglas to Alliance line. Temperatures slightly cooler with more cloud cover and precipitation coverage.

Tuesday...Moist northwest flow aloft will help produce another round of scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. With 700 mb temperatures only near 2 Celsius, maximum temperatures will rise only into the 50s to near 60 degrees.

Wednesday...Although the flow aloft remains north northwest, 500 mb heights rise from 5640 meters to 5720 meters as the ridge over the Pacific Northwest begins to bulge across the northern Rockies. This will effectively decrease the areal coverage of late day showers and thunderstorms to a more isolated variety.

Thursday...As the ridge aloft over the Great Basin states exerts its influence over our counties, with 500 mb heights rising from 5720 meters to 5760 meters, warmer temperatures aloft will limit shower and thunderstorm chances and likely keep it dry. Temperatures will correspondingly warm into the mid 60s to mid 70s.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 532 PM MDT Thu Apr 30 2026

A few weak, convective snow showers are ongoing in the vicinity of KLAR at this hour, however impacts look to be minimal in terms of visibility with CIGS also remaining aoa 5 kft. Snow should begin to wrap up after sunset as the diurnal convection begins to fade. Expect VFR conditions at the remaining terminals throughout the TAF period with a few high level clouds in place as a ridge of high pressure builds over SE Wyoming and Western Nebraska.

In terms of our winds, expect 5-10 knot NNW winds to become more variable throughout the overnight period. The exception is at KAIA where winds are currently gusting above 20 knots, but expect these to weaken after 03Z. Winds are expected to increase to 10-15 knots tomorrow afternoon out of the north.

CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WY...None. NE...None.