"Why is it so windy in Wyoming? Because Nebraska sucks and Utah blows."
It’s an old joke that still elicits a chuckle from most Wyomingites, because what state doesn’t enjoy a good-natured dig at its neighbors?
But is there any truth to it? Wyoming is a natural wind tunnel, but do Nebraska and Utah's weather patterns contribute to Wyoming being prone to high winds?
“It’s an expression that’s been around for a long time, but there’s some truth to it,” said Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day. “On special occasions with special conditions, Utah does blow and Nebraska does suck, but Wyoming makes it worse.”
No Sucking Motion
Day doesn’t think that Utah blows or that Nebraska sucks. However, they can contribute to Wyoming’s windiest days.
Air pressure is the key factor. When Utah and Nebraska have opposite air pressures, it creates the perfect whirlwind of conditions that leaves Wyoming caught in the wind.
“Air wants to move from a high-pressure system to a low-pressure system,” Day said. “When you have a large high-pressure system in Utah and a large low-pressure system in Nebraska, and it's going to blow like heck in Wyoming as the air moves from one to the other.”
Utah is definitely blowing in these conditions, but Nebraska isn’t sucking. There’s nothing drawing wind toward Nebraska other than the natural desire for air to move from high to low-pressure systems.
Nevertheless, Wyoming lies between the two states. The intensity of the moving air manifests as persistently windy conditions in the Cowboy State.
“It’s a blowing motion, but not a sucking motion,” Day said.
(CSD File) 
High blowover risk on Interstate 25 outside of Cheyenne on May 6, 2024 (Jimmy Orr, Cowboy State Daily) 
(CSD File)
Winds Of Winter
Wyoming is one of the windiest places in the United States, but there’s a particular season when Utah and Nebraska contribute. According to Day, most of Wyoming’s wind records have been set during the winter and spring.
“The wind usually rears its ugly head between November and April,” he said. “That’s also when we’re more likely to get different air pressure systems in Utah and Nebraska.”
The strongest Wyoming wind gust ever recorded blew through Clark in April 2022. One of the gusts recorded during a spring windstorm was at least 128 mph.
Mount Coffin, in Lincoln County, is one of the most consistently windy places in the Cowboy State. A gust of 120 mph was recorded at the mountain top in February.
If Utah goes high and Nebraska goes low, it gets windy in Wyoming. That makes the subzero temperatures and snowstorms all the more dangerous for drivers.
This is particularly true in southern Wyoming, as it’s the most direct route between the two states. That might explain why I-80 has so many wind-related hazards.
It’s No Joke
Utah and Nebraska might be the punchline of the joke, but that doesn’t mean Wyoming gets away unscathed. Wyoming doesn’t make the windy conditions, but it consistently makes them worse.
When the wind moving from Utah to Nebraska blows through Wyoming’s mountains, it gets stronger and more powerful. Day said it’s the same phenomenon as holding your thumb over the opening of a flowing hose.
“Think of the wind like a fluid,” he said. “When you squeeze a fluid, you increase its speed. Rivers and canyons coming out of Wyoming’s mountains tend to focus the wind.”
Wyoming also exists in the gap between several different mountain ranges, which funnels the wind even more. When you factor in Wyoming’s high elevation and its latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, it makes the entire state a natural wind tunnel.
Furthermore, the wind is objectively worse in winter. When Utah and Nebraska are exchanging wind between themselves, Wyoming’s already going through its windiest season.
“The jet stream is the strongest and spends most of its time in our latitudes during the winter,” Day said. “That drives a lot of our high-wind events, when the strong winds aloft are right on top of us. And since we’re so high, we’re closer to the winds aloft.”
Historically, Wyoming’s windiest period occurs between December and March. Day doesn’t think the wind movement between Utah and Nebraska is the main factor, but it is a contributing one.
“Wyoming's topography doesn't help the blowing or the sucking,” Day said. “When you get a big change in air pressure, it’s going to blow like heck between Utah and Nebraska, and that’s Wyoming.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
