Smoke Pays Unexpected Visit to Cheyenne Sunday

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Cheyenne Frontier Days was supposed to conclude with some chance showers and storms. Instead, Cheyenne was briefly overrun with smoke for almost an hour as visibility went down to 2 statute miles. After further investigation, preliminary reports were found of a wildfire in Carter Canyon near Gering, NE that started late Saturday. Some reports indicated an evacuation of Carter Canyon Road that same night as 1,000 acres had already burned. More recent reports have the wildfire as large as 13,000 acres with multiple starting points and a breeze of 20 mph adding to the fast growth throughout Sunday. Winds from the northeast will indicate whether Cheyenne will receive more smoke from the blaze. The Monday smoke forecast is not favorable. Throughout the day, smoke will become heavier until midnight when a change in wind direction will clear out southern Wyoming from the fumes and haze.

Besides the fires to contend with, weather continues. The thunderstorm outlook changes its pattern Monday as the western and southern border of Wyoming is forecasted to see increased rain shower and thunderstorm activity. Weather such as this is welcomed when smoke is in the air. This will also be beneficial to the National Parks area where the Salmon Forest fire in Idaho is up 48,000 acres and gave Yellowstone a Moderate Air Quality Index (AQI) rating in the 80s Saturday and Sunday. Cheyenne had an AQI of over 200 with a Very Unhealthy rating briefly Sunday as a comparison. A large amount of cloud coverage will increase over west and southern Wyoming Monday in preparation for Tuesday’s storms to develop in the afternoon. Winds are light until Tuesday morning when increases in wind speed occur in neighboring cities around Elk Mountain ranging from 25 to 35 mph. Tuesday afternoon will bring state-wide increases in wind speeds 30 to 35 mph as storms rush over Wyoming.

Low temperatures will range from the low 60s to mid 50s for the viewing area. High temperatures warm slightly Monday. Above triple digits in Nebraska and near triple digits in much of northern Wyoming are forecasted. Cheyenne and Laramie get a break with temperatures of 90 and 85 due to their higher elevations. Rawlins and Rock Springs will hover near 90F.

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