Coldest January Weather In Decades Recorded In SE Wyoming

While cold temperatures in Wyoming in January are not exactly a shocking development, the mercury last month plunged to levels not seen in decades.

That's according to the Cheyenne Office of the National Weather Service. The agency nposted the following on its website:

Temperatures were quite volatile last month, bringing both extreme cold and unusual warmth! East of I-25, the cold far outpaced the warmth, leading to a much colder than average month. The mid-January arctic cold snap brought some of the coldest January temperatures in the last several decades! (Likely coincidentally, most of the severe cold snaps in recent years have occured in either December or February). The warmth and cold were more balanced for Laramie and Rawlins, which saw near normal temperatures.

A few locations saw impressive differences between the monthly high and the monthly low. The largest was Scottsbluff, which saw a 93F temperature spread between the low of -26F on 1/16 and the high of 67F on 1/31! This was the 3rd largest spread in temperature between the January high and January low since 1893.

Most locations ended up near to slightly above average on precipitation and snowfall, nearly entirely thanks to the series of storms that impacted our area in the middle of the month.

Mountain snowpack made up a little bit of ground last month, but most locations remain below average in terms of snow water equivalent on the ground. The Sierra Madre range is closest to normal at 87% of median, while the South Laramie range is furthest behind, with only 23% of median snowpack currently present.

Snow Possible For Cheyenne, Laramie This Week

While Cheyenne and Laramie can expect warm weather and mild temperatures the next couple of days, snow is possible again by the middle of the week:

Cheyenne Forecast: