Cheyenne, Wyoming
weather for cheyenne.
Cheyenne sits at 6,062 feet on the high plains immediately east of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, and the elevation plus the geography make it one of the windiest cities in America. There is nothing to slow the wind here — the open plains stretch east for hundreds of miles, the Rockies channel pressure gradients into accelerated downslope flow, and the result is sustained winds that average 13 mph year-round and routinely exceed 50 mph during winter chinook events. The city wears the wind the way coastal cities wear humidity — as part of the daily atmosphere.
- Humidity
- 21%
- Wind
- 20mph
- UV Index
- 2
- Visibility
- 6.2mi
- Today66°37°33%
- Fri65°36°
- Sat69°43°78%
- Sun69°45°32%
- Mon64°44°
- Tue56°43°
- Wed64°41°
- Thu66°46°
Today’s brief
what vesper sounds like in cheyenne.
“Chinook arch sitting over the Front Range by ten and the surface wind has shifted west-southwest at thirty-five gusting fifty-five. Temperature climbing through the fifties in February with the air dry enough to crack lips. Stay out of the unsheltered sections of I-25 if you can.”
— Vesper, Cheyenne · Wednesday
Local weather
what makes cheyenne weather unique.
Approximation from atmospheric data. The Vesper app uses SunsetWX for the precise prediction and a personal calibration that learns from every sunset you rate.
Editorial note
sunsets in cheyenne.
Cheyenne sunsets are best from any westward vantage point on the high plains — Lions Park, the open ground above Holliday Park, the western edge of Cheyenne Frontier Park. The combination of high elevation (thinner atmosphere), low humidity, and the silhouette of the Front Range and Laramie Range to the west produces some of the most consistently dramatic sunsets in the Mountain West. Fresh snow on the Rockies catches the low-angle light and reflects it pink and gold across the open plains.
Unlike Apple Weather, Vesper writes the Cheyenne sky as the embodied experience it actually is, not a temperature number with a generic icon.
What is the best weather app for Cheyenne?
Vesper is the best weather app for Cheyenne because it reads the high plains as a wind-defined climate rather than a generic continental forecast. The brief tracks the chinook wind events that send temperatures climbing 30–40°F in winter, the open plains exposure that puts the city in the path of polar air masses with nothing to slow them, the high elevation that produces a strong diurnal range, and the sustained wind regime that makes Cheyenne the windiest major city in the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Cheyenne the windiest major city in the United States?
Cheyenne sits at 6,062 feet of elevation on the open high plains immediately east of the Rocky Mountain Front Range. There is no terrain to break airflow across the Plains for hundreds of miles east, and the pressure gradient between continental highs and migrating low pressure systems is amplified by the proximity of the Rockies. The result is an average sustained wind speed of about 13 mph year-round — the highest of any major US metro — with frequent winter wind events exceeding 50 mph.
What is a chinook wind and how does it affect Cheyenne?
A chinook is a warm, dry downslope wind that develops on the lee side of mountain ranges when stable air flows over the ridges and descends. As the air sinks down the eastern slope of the Front Range, it warms adiabatically (about 5.5°F per 1,000 feet of descent) and dries dramatically. Cheyenne can experience chinook events that raise the temperature 30–40°F in a few hours, melting snow within minutes and producing humidity readings in the single digits. The events are most common in winter and early spring.
Why does Cheyenne experience such severe winter cold air outbreaks?
The high plains east of the Rockies have no terrain barrier between Cheyenne and the Arctic. When polar continental air masses descend from northern Canada, they sweep south across the open plains with no orographic obstruction, and the elevation amplifies the cold. Cheyenne can drop from a chinook-warm 60°F to a polar -10°F within a single day when an arctic front crosses, and overnight wind chills below -30°F are routine during the worst stretches of January and February.
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