CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Heads up if you have travel plans this weekend. A strong and slow-moving winter storm will bring heavy snow to Eastern Wyoming and Northern Colorado from Friday night through Sunday night with difficult to impossible travel conditions expected on major highways.
This storm will NOT impact Jackson Hole or Northwest Wyoming, but anyone who has travel plans to the eastern part of the state or flight plans through Denver on Saturday or Sunday should reconsider their plans.
The storm will feature a powerful low-pressure system moving across Colorado that will tap into Gulf of Mexico moisture, with counter-clockwise southeasterly winds around the center of low pressure transporting this moisture into Eastern Wyoming.
Snowfall totals are likely to be measured in feet along the I-25 corridor from Douglas to Denver from Friday night through Sunday night. Heavy snow could extend as far west as Lander along the eastern slopes of the Continental Divide with light to moderate snow extending as far west as Togwotee Pass. Cheyenne and Laramie County appear to be in the bullseye where some of the heaviest snow totals are expected.
Towns such as Lander, Riverton, Dubois and Casper will be on the northern/western fringe of the storm, but if the storm shifts even just a little farther north, then snowfall potential could increase significantly for these areas. In addition, moderate to heavy snow will fall across Southern Wyoming, including Rock Springs and Rawlins, with difficult travel conditions expected throughout the I-80 corridor.
Jackson Hole and Northwest Wyoming will be protected from this storm on the western side of the Continental Divide as easterly winds will not transport this moisture far enough west.
Here is the current snowfall projection for Wyoming from a blend of weather models.
