GILLETTE, Wyo. — A blast of frigid arctic air is on the way this weekend, and that will drop overnight temps into the negative double digits. First, though, will be seasonal temps but snow is increasingly likely.
Today’s forecast from the National Weather Service in Rapid City, South Dakota, calls for a 60% chance for snow increasing to 90% throughout the day with up to an inch of accumulation possible. The high will be around 35 degrees but wind chills will be as low as 12 as winds come from the west at 15 to 23 mph with gusts reaching 32 mph.
A 50% chance for snow will carry into tonight under mostly cloudy skies. The low will fall to around 26 and wind chills will dip to 17 as wind speeds pick up to 19 to 24 mph from the northwest. That should fall to 13 to 18 mph after midnight, according to the forecast. Gusts may reach speeds of 36 mph.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation is warning that all state roads and the interstate in and around Campbell County are slick.
“An unsettled and very active weather pattern will continue over the next several days, with persistent chances for mostly snow through the period as a parade of disturbances move through the fast
northwesterly flow aloft,” meteorologists wrote in forecast discussion. “Arctic air arrives for the weekend, with the most widespread chances for snow coming later Friday into Saturday as the much colder air settles into the area.”
Snow chances from Friday through Saturday night in Gillette bounce from 80% Friday to 40% Friday night to 90% Saturday to 50% Saturday night. Sunday will carry a sliding chance for snow from 60% to 30%, but as more frigid air settles into the region, snow chances disappear.
That air will move in Saturday, dropping the high from 19 degrees to around 9 by 5 p.m., according to the forecast. That will drop further to -5 for the overnight. Sunday’s forecast high is 1 degree with an overnight low of -18. Monday has a forecast high of 0.
More on the forecast is available at the National Weather Service website.
