textproduct: Western and Central Wyoming

KEY MESSAGES

- Dry weather, relatively light winds, and seasonal to slightly above normal highs today.

- Temperatures begin to warm well above normal Saturday and Sunday. Sunday is forecast to be the warmest day with highs 10 to 20 degrees above normal.

- Overall dry weather and widespread highs in the 50s and low 60s are forecast much of next week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 224 AM MST Fri Nov 6 2026

As of 2:15AM, water vapor satellite imagery shows a longwave trough axis near the Wyoming/Idaho border. High clouds within southwest flow ahead of the trough will shift east with the trough through the morning. Clearing skies will allow for a cold Friday morning for most with temperatures ranging from the mid 20s to mid 30s in the 6AM to 8AM time frame. Although there will be plenty sunshine today, temperatures will be similar if not slightly cooler compared to Thursday due to north/northwest flow behind the aforementioned trough. Anticipate high temperatures to be in the mid 40s for locations west of the Continental Divide and the low 50s east of the Continental Divide. Winds are overall expected to remain light; however, occasional breezes around 20 mph are forecast for South Pass, Dubois, and high elevations of the Absarokas this afternoon.

There is high confidence that a ridge will begin to build across the Intermountain West late tonight and be overhead through at least Sunday morning. With deep high pressure building into the area, anticipate Saturday's highs to be similar to slightly warmer compared to today. The only minor thing of note for Saturday will be a weak vorticity maximum ahead of the ridge axis. There currently looks to be just enough mid-level moisture associated with the vorticity maximum to support isolated virga showers across northwestern and northern Wyoming late Saturday morning through early Saturday afternoon. There is less than a 10% chance that any of this will reach the ground.

The upper level ridge begins to fold over on Sunday, leaving zonal flow aloft across the area. Sunday is forecast to be the warmest day out of the next 7 days due to gusty winds ahead of a weak Sunday evening cold front and warm 700mb temperatures. Mean 700mb temperatures for Sunday afternoon currently range from 3C to 5C across western and southern Wyoming to 7C to 10C across central and north-central Wyoming. This translates to highs in the 50s to low 60s. The warmest temperatures are forecast to occur in Johnson County with highs around 70 degrees. These highs are around 20 degrees above normal. Given these much above normal temperatures and gusty winds on Sunday afternoon, elevated fire weather conditions are possible across Johnson County.

The aforementioned weak cold front is currently forecast to have little to no moisture associated with its passage late Sunday. The only impact will be slightly cooler temperatures for Monday. Ensemble guidance is in consensus that a shortwave and its associated cold front will trek across the area Monday night into early Tuesday, bringing very low precipitation chances to northwest Wyoming. An upper level ridge looks to build back into the region for Wednesday and Thursday, leading to more dry and above normal temperatures.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 415 AM MST Fri Nov 6 2026

Clearing skies continue over Johnson/Natrona counties and eastern portions of Sweetwater County. Low end VFR ceilings over western portions of the state are also clearing out with SKC skies expected across the area by 18Z. One exception is lower VFR ceilings are developing over western Sweetwater County in the last hour with the possibility to drop to MVFR through 16Z. Winds will be light (12kt or less) for all terminals through the TAF period. High cirrus clouds will move over northern portions through the night after 00Z.

Please see the Aviation Weather Center and/or CWSU ZDV and ZLC for the latest information on smoke, icing, and turbulence forecasts.

RIW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

None.