Wind gusts hit 118 mph in Clark

Posted 12/14/21

Clark was again buffeted by hurricane-force winds over the weekend, with gusts reaching up to 118 mph late Saturday night, the National Weather Service reported.

High winds were …

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Wind gusts hit 118 mph in Clark

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Clark was again buffeted by hurricane-force winds over the weekend, with gusts reaching up to 118 mph late Saturday night, the National Weather Service reported.

High winds were experienced around Wyoming, but the violent weather recorded in the Clark area around 11:15 p.m. Saturday topped the rest of the state. A station southwest of Casper came the closest, with a peak wind speed of 88 mph around midday Sunday.

West of Clark, meanwhile, winds whistled back up to 80 mph around 7:45 a.m. Sunday. Sustained winds of 74-95 per hour are seen in category 1 hurricanes, while sustained speeds of 111-129 mph are classified as category 3, in which “devastating damage will occur,” according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

A November windstorm in Clark also saw speeds that topped 100 mph, downed electrical lines and carried a fast-moving fire that claimed a woman’s life and multiple structures near Line Creek.

Speeds were not as dramatic in other parts of Park County over the weekend, but were still high. Another station in Clark, located at a lower elevation, peaked at 51 mph Saturday night, as did a site north of Meeteetse, while a station west of Cody logged winds up to 61 mph.

The National Weather Service in Riverton warned that high winds would return on Monday and impact the same locations.

“Strong winds continue east of the [Continental] divide ... through Tuesday night,” the service said in a tweet. “Winter Weather is back beginning tonight in the west with moderate accumulations and travel impacts through Wednesday morning.”

High wind warnings, watches and winter weather advisories were in effect, with the Weather Service predicting 10-17 inches of snow in western Yellowstone National Park. The Cody foothills were expected to get up to 2 inches of powder, with less than an inch forecast for the Powell area.

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