textproduct: Western and Central Wyoming

KEY MESSAGES

- Cooler start to Wednesday morning behind a weak frontal boundary Tuesday.

- Afternoon temperatures continue to be 10 to 20 degrees warmer than average Wednesday and Thursday.

- Another frontal boundary late Thursday will bring cooler but seasonable temperatures Friday with a warming trend over the weekend into early next week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1200 AM MST Wed Jan 14 2026

Upper level ridging continues to dominate the western CONUS with a high centered over northern California. A weak frontal boundary scraped eastern portions of the CWA east of the Bighorns that brought some breezy winds and a few showers. The only widespread impact will be a cooler start to Wednesday morning but warming right back up to 10 to 20 degrees above average once again in the afternoon and again Thursday. The main finger of the PFJ continues to be blocked to the north into Canada before it dives south into the upper Great Plains and Missouri River Basin. The much colder temperatures remain for the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes Region bringing some of that southward to even the Gulf of America. For our part of the country, some breezy winds, ample sunshine, and dry conditions continue to be the story.

Thursday will see a similar occurrence as Tuesday with a late date frontal passage but with a strong shortwave supporting it. The PFJ retreats westward across the state allowing for isolated shower activity east of the Divide but not much to it with ensemble guidance. 10-20% PoP the best that can be done. However, colder temperatures will come for Friday, albeit only seasonable for the middle of January. A the trough pushes east, ridging builds back in for the weekend as increasing convergence weakens the divergence aloft with the coldest of temperatures expected to push as far south as northeast Texas and northern Louisiana/Mississippi. This pattern looks to continue into next week with a blocking ridge for western CONUS and a deep, potent trough for the eastern half of the country. Longer term model solutions continue to be more aligned with bringing in a more zonal pattern by late next week that will open up the Pacific moisture for the CWA. However, as with this pattern, areas west of the Divide will mainly be impacted with snowfall but a more widespread cooler pattern will be had by all even if just seasonable for January 22nd onward towards the end of the month.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 950 PM MST Tue Jan 13 2026

Northerly flow aloft allows for continued mid/high cloud cover to sweep south across the region through early Wednesday morning. Cloud cover decreases by midday Wednesday leaving a mostly clear sky through the remainder of the forecast period. All terminals to be VFR, although low-end VFR at KCPR will flirt with MVFR and a light shower until 10Z/Wednesday. Conditions at KCPR gradually improve between 12Z-16Z/Wednesday, as surface wind switches to the southwest and favorable moisture slips south of the region. Wednesday afternoon finds KCPR and KRKS with westerly 12-20kt winds until around 01Z/Thursday. KPNA could see intermittent west-northwest wind 15-20kts Wednesday afternoon, while other terminals see speeds less than 8kts. Frequent mountain top obscurations along the east slopes of the Bighorn Range and around KCPR until 15Z/Wednesday.

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.