Get Ready To Shiver — Cold Wave To Plunge Wyoming Below Zero This Week

A surge of polar air from Canada will move into Wyoming by the end of the week, plunging much of the state into below zero temperatures. It’s the start of what could be a prolonged period of serious cold.

AR
Andrew Rossi

January 13, 20256 min read

A glitch in the software of this electronic sign at Alpine Animal Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming, shows it's minus 196 degrees there in January 2024. If true, it would by far be the coldest place ever recorded on the planet.
A glitch in the software of this electronic sign at Alpine Animal Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming, shows it's minus 196 degrees there in January 2024. If true, it would by far be the coldest place ever recorded on the planet. (Mark Heinz, Cowboy State Daily)

A cold wave from Canada will descend on the United States this weekend and bring some serious subzero temperatures and plunge Wyoming firmly into the winter season.

At this time in 2024, Wyoming was grappling with the widespread impacts of a polar vortex. However, the incoming surge of polar air won’t be a vortex, even though it will be extremely cold.

Daytime highs during this wave of cold will struggle to get above single digits Saturday and Sunday before the surge subsides, and there should be more to come beyond that.

“This is, without a doubt, the biggest shot of cold air of the year for this part of the country,” said Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day. “It will affect almost the entire nation over the next week. The headliner for Wyoming is that it’s going to be cold.”

Eastern Fringe Freeze

The surge of cold air will reach Wyoming just in time for the weekend. Day said a curtain of cold weather will slowly move down the Rockies and be acutely felt across the state by Saturday.

“The leading edge of the Arctic air will reach northern Wyoming by Friday morning,” he said. “We're not 100% sure when it will ease. It could be over by Tuesday or go into Wednesday and Thursday. We'll see sub-zero temperatures Saturday night, Sunday night and possibly Monday night.

Aaron Woodward with the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said Sunday should be the coldest day of the incoming surge in Wyoming.

“There’s a good chance of much of the area struggling to get above zero for daytime temperatures on Sunday,” he said. “We’re showing a high of 1 degree, without any wind, in eastern Wyoming. Any breeze will make it feel much colder.”

This cold surge has a definite eastward trajectory and will primarily impact the Great Plains region. Wyoming is on the fringe of the coldest section of the surge, which means eastern Wyoming will shiver the most.

“We have high temperatures in the single digits on Sunday and potentially Saturday and Monday,” said Shelby Fuller with the NWS Office in Cheyenne. “Overnight lows will almost certainly be below zero.”

Wind chills could make daytime temperatures feel even colder. Day said daytime wind chills could make single-dight highs feel subzero, especially as the front moves across Wyoming on Friday and Saturday.

“There will be some wind as the front comes in, and then there's always a period when the Arctic air begins to move a little to the east, and the winds pick up,” he said. “Folks should be prepared for the cold to stick around.”

Western Wyoming might not be as cold over the weekend, but the impact of the polar surge will still be significant. Richard Lowe with the NWS office in Riveron said temperatures will be 15 to 20 degrees lower than average.

“A lot of the lower basins east of the divide, they'll be hovering around the zero-degree mark in the afternoon and probably 15 to 20 degrees below at night,” he said. “Areas west of the divide will be a little cooler, but most of the coldest of the air will be East.”

Low (But Not No) Snow

The primary impact of the incoming cold wave will be the tumble in temperature. There isn’t a significant pocket of moisture accompanying the surge, so there shouldn’t be any heavy snow accompanying the subzero temperatures.

However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any snow. Woodward said Arctic air masses like this don’t need much moisture to produce snow.

“We don't need much moisture to squeeze out precipitation,” he said. “We’ve got some precipitation chances in the form of snow on Thursday night and good chances on Friday, ahead of the leading edge of the arctic air mass. There’s also a slight chance of snow on Saturday before things clear out and again on Sunday.”

Fuller said the tri-state area of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska could see “some widespread accumulating snow” starting Friday and continuing into the weekend. Total accumulation won’t be much, 1-3 inches, but enough to potentially impact travel, especially on the notoriously treacherous Interstate 80.

“This will be our first real Arctic blast of the season,” she said. “It might catch some people off guard if they're unprepared for it.”

Day also anticipates snow accumulation along “the arctic boundary” as the cold wave moves into the Great Plans region, but only light to moderate accumulation and no heavy snow.

“The headliner for this system is going to be the cold,” he said.

Trends, Not Records

The incoming cold wave will be the coldest temperatures of the 2024-2025 winter season so far, but there shouldn’t be any reach record-breaking lows in Wyoming. All indications suggest this system just won’t be that cold.

“It’s not that quite that severe,” said Lowe. “There are significant cold temperatures, 30 to 40 below, for record lows at this time of year. We won't be quite that cold, but it will definitely be the coldest air of this winter thus far.”

Day said the most notable takeaway is that Wyoming is being positioned for an extended period of cold. This weekend’s cold wave could be the first of many throughout January and February that could reach record lows.

“From what I'm seeing, the trend for the state is looking colder for the next six weeks,” he said. “I don't think this is the only one. Other Arctic fronts will be queued up between now and the end of February. I don’t see any promise of a prolonged thaw after this system moves on.”

Future Arctic fronts could bring heavy snow with them if they tap into sufficiently large wells of moisture. Still, the snow potential of this weekend’s wave shouldn’t be underestimated.

“This initial Arctic wave doesn't have a lot of moisture, but it'll be enough to grease up roads and highways and cover things up,” he said. “But the main takeaway is that Saturday through Monday will be the three coldest days in a row of the year. Bar none.”

How Cold?

By the weekend night, spots across Wyoming will be cold, especially in the eastern part of the state. Here’s the National Weather Service forecast for some low temperatures Saturday night, as of Mon., Jan 13:

• Afton: Minus 8

• Buffalo: Minus 8

• Casper: Minus 9

• Cheyenne: Minus 4

• Cody: Minus 7

• Gillette: Minus 12

• Jackson: Minus 7

• Lander: Minus 12

• Laramie: Minus 6

• Lusk: Minus 12

• Pinedale: Minus 17

• Riverton: Minus 15

• Rock Springs: Minus 7

• Saratoga: Minus 7

• Sheridan: Minus 14

• Thermopolis: Minus 10

• Wamsutter: Minus 12

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Andrew Rossi

Features Reporter

Andrew Rossi is a features reporter for Cowboy State Daily based in northwest Wyoming. He covers everything from horrible weather and giant pumpkins to dinosaurs, astronomy, and the eccentricities of Yellowstone National Park.