textproduct: Western and Central Wyoming

KEY MESSAGES

- Breezy winds in central Wyoming will continue overnight, but will slowly wane in intensity, becoming light after sunrise Sunday.

- Mostly clear conditions continue into early next week, with a slight cooldown Sunday (compared to Saturday), as light north winds push cooler air southward from Montana.

- High clouds with a few isolated virga showers (light rain evaporating before the ground) across far southern Wyoming Sunday afternoon and evening.

- Scattered showers possible (60% chance) for the mountains of western Wyoming on Tuesday afternoon and evening, but any precipitation accumulations will be minimal.

- A large and wet weather system is forecast for Friday into next weekend. A lot of uncertainty on details this far out, but this seems to be the next chance for widespread rain/snow.

UPDATE

Issued at 1231 PM MDT Sat Oct 17 2026

High pressure continues over the area, with warm and dry conditions remaining. Current water vapor imagery shows the dry air over the state, with a little moisture bringing high clouds across far northern Wyoming. No notable changes made to the forecast with this update, as a subtle trough is still expected to bring cooler (but seasonal) temperatures for Sunday, as well as lighter winds.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 207 AM MDT Sat Oct 17 2026

H5 ridging dominates the weather today, bringing much warmer temperatures across western and central Wyoming. This will bring a beautiful autumn afternoon across Wyoming, with highs reaching the 60s for most areas. A weak trough sweeping by well to the north along the Canadian border will tighten the local gradient enough to ramp up winds this afternoon, generally from South Pass east across Natrona and Johnson Counties. Gusts in these areas will reach 30 to 40 mph. This gusty wind will also tap some drier air across Johnson County, pushing temperatures there even higher, reaching the mid to upper 70s.

The system to the north will bring a weak cold front down along the I-25 corridor after sunset, bringing lighter north winds, and drawing temperatures back down closer to normal into the day Sunday. Highs will draw back down to the low 60s, similar to the remainder of western and central Wyoming.

Models are getting more consistent on the larger trough that will be dropping southward along the West Coast this week. This will put Wyoming in southwesterly flow between the trough and the amplifying ridge across the Great Plains. A decaying cutoff trough will wrap ahead of the diving coastal trough and zip northward Tuesday across western WY. Moisture with this decreasing system is limited, so a few showers are possible Tuesday afternoon, but any accumulations will be minimal at best. The trough holds in place for a couple days across central California before ejecting to the northeast late in the week. Where this trough moves northeast will have bearing on precipitation chances and amounts when it moves through Thursday and Friday.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z MONDAY/

Issued at 555 PM MDT Sat Oct 17 2026

VFR conditions prevail over the next 24 hours, with no precipitation forecast. Locations across central Wyoming, including CPR, will continue to see breezy southwest winds into the overnight hours, but gusts will begin to wane after 18/0300Z, and ultimately become light around sunrise Sunday. At COD, surface winds will quickly become light after sunset, but breezy west winds linger a couple thousand feet off the ground until after midnight. Lighter winds are forecast for Sunday, with a subtle shift to northerly for basins east of the Continental Divide.

RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.