Kimball County’s early blast of winter-like weather this week was expected to bring 3 to 4 inches of snow, icy roads and hazardous travel conditions through Friday morning, the National Weather Service in Cheyenne warned.
All of which followed a temperature free fall on Wednesday that was forecast to nosedive from about 80 to 20 degrees and cause pre-snow rainfall to freeze.
Good news for the Kimball area is that it was expected to escape considerably more severe weather to the north and west, and that more seasonal autumn weather was anticipated here later Friday and through the long Columbus Day weekend.
But until that turn for the better, NWS warned Tuesday evening that potential was increasing for a winter storm Wednesday night through Friday morning. The forecast included periods of moderate to heavy snow, reduced visibility from blowing snow, a flash freeze and light icing and hazardous driving.
As for early Wednesday, Kimball County was on the fringe of more severe weather in the forecast. Much of Wyoming and the northern Panhandle were under winter storm warning through Friday morning. Kimball was not.
In neighboring areas, preliminary snowfall totals were forecast at 4 to 6 inches in Scottsbluff and Cheyenne, 6 inches in Torrington, and 2 to 3 inches in Sidney. Some of the heaviest regional snowfall was expected to the north with 12 to 18 inches in Harrison, Sioux County, and Lusk, Wyo., and 8 to 12 inches in Chadron, Dawes County.
NWS predicted record cold across the region early Friday with Kimball bottoming out at 10 degrees.
The weather.com forecast for Kimball showed a warming trend after temperatures in the teens and 20s on Thursday.
Expected temperatures were 22 to 43 with clouds Friday, 29 to 58 on a sunny Saturday, and partly sunny conditions Sunday and Monday with temperatures of about 30 to 65.