Precipitation Set to Move South Today

The cold front has passed through the Cowboy State as temperatures have fallen by 20+ degrees almost everywhere, with some locations seeing 30 degree drops since the early afternoon hours yesterday. Rain and snow are beginning to become more widespread now as well, with much of Central Eastern Wyoming beginning to see the action.

The low pressure that moved into the state yesterday and overnight into this morning is weakening, however its effects will continue to be felt as it reforms on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains later today. That is when the precipitation will start to pickup more in Southeast Wyoming. To accompany that strong winds from the north and northwest are expected in the Southeastern Counties as well, with Cheyenne likely to see the strongest winds. Sustained speeds will likely be at 30+ mph during parts of the late afternoon with gusts potentially over 50 mph, and Laramie likely will not be too far behind. Temperatures are slowly climbing back into the low and mid 40s as well as the afternoon arrives, supporting rainfall over snowfall as precipitation looks to pickup in the afternoon.

Of course, with things moving in from the north for Cheyenne, there is always the possibility that by the time the precipitation arrives that it is snow. It is hard to tell at this point, however odds are looking pretty good that the Capital City sees some rain. Casper has seen a couple of rain showers so far, and more are likely as we continue into the afternoon hours. Laramie is even warm enough at this point to see rainfall instead of snowfall, even at the higher elevation. There have been some interesting things in the far eastern counties of Wyoming and into the Nebraska Panhandle late this morning however, and that would be thundersnow. Things are just cool enough for precipitation to fall as a very warm and wet snow for Goshen and Niobrara Counties, and with the low reforming over Eastern Colorado, there is enough rising air to generate lightning and thunder to accompany it.

The precipitation will eventually all shift to snow during the nighttime hours tonight as several locations will see sub-freezing lows for the first time in about a week. Snow activity will taper off early tomorrow morning, however the windy pattern is just getting started, with Southeast Wyoming likely to see some of the worst winds for the next week tomorrow afternoon, once again especially in Cheyenne.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) -