textproduct: Cheyenne

KEY MESSAGES

- A cool airmass will descend over the Intermountain West for cooler temperatures Tuesday.

- Warming resumes Wednesday as a ridge builds back in, with similar temperatures next weekend as this past weekend.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 1221 AM MDT Tue Aug 4 2026

What a difference a day makes as we will enjoy a day that is not sweltering as a cooler airmass settles in behind the passage of a cold front that dove south across the CWA on Monday. Expect highs today to only top out in the 70s, with a few 80s across our far west forecast zones. These cooler temperatures will be short-lived though, as we will heat up once again starting Wednesday with a return of ridging, more on that in the long term discussion. In the meantime, we will stay in under a weak upper level trough, with zonal flow overhead. This set-up will not only keep our temperatures cooler, but our minimum RH values will be slightly higher then what we have been seeing in previous days. So, this afternoon's RH values will only dip into the 30s and 40s primarily east of the I-25 corridor, putting an end to the critical fire weather concerns. However, out west in Carbon County, minimum RH values will dip into the 10s, bringing continued elevated fire weather concerns to this portion of the CWA. One other thing, due to smoke that has been plaguing the area from wildfires to our west, the Wyoming Air Quality Division has an Air Quality Alert (AQA) in place through the Tuesday morning across southeast Wyoming, thereafter the smoke will begin to clear out, allowing an end to the alert.

LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/

Issued at 212 PM MDT Mon Aug 3 2026

The long term will be largely uneventful as we see high pressure building back in, bringing warm and dry weather alongside a risk of critical fire weather conditions. Wednesday starts with some lingering precipitation in the Nebraska Panhandle as the trough is departing the region, but this will be quickly escaping and bringing in a dry spell that will last through the remainder of the long term. That being said, Wednesday should still be quite a fair late summer day, with temperatures in the 70's to 80's across our area thanks to the cold front that's currently passing over the region. But a high pressure ridge will build back in, dominating into the weekend with highs gradually rising back into the 90's to triple digits for most of our CWA outside of the mountains. Along with this will come dry air, with daytime relative humidity values into the single digit to teens each day. Because of this, expect an elevated fire weather environment, with the potential to become critical with any increase in winds. This could be notably possible over the weekend when the ridge flattens due to troughing to our north, causing an enhanced pressure gradient primarily for our northern zones bringing breezy winds. Otherwise, summer has no intention of leaving early as our streak of warm temperatures continues.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1045 PM MDT Mon Aug 3 2026

VFR will prevail through the TAF period as we remain in NNE flow behind a cold front that moved through earlier. Although there is considerable smoke aloft, don't expect any visibilities that would yield MVFR criteria. Can expect cigs as low as 5 kft beginning around sunrise, mainly for the Nebraska terminals and KCYS as surface flow gradually turns ESE, advecting moisture westward in the upslope flow regime. Gusty winds as high as 30-35 knots should gradually decrease overnight before ramping up again into the early evening hours, particularly for KCYS and KLAR.

CYS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

WY...Air Quality Alert until 11 AM MDT this morning for WYZ101>119. NE...None.