Cold cloaks Powell, but warmer temps en route

Car engines groaned reluctantly to life in this morning’s below-zero temperatures.

According to Terry Foley’s PowellWeather.net, at 7:19 a.m. Wednesday, it was 10.5 degrees below zero in Powell with a wind chill of 28.3 below.

Temperatures didn’t improve much during the day. It was 2 degrees below zero with a wind chill bouncing between 7 and 14 degrees below zero at around 10:30 a.m. today as Jack Frost toyed with the wind.

Cody was hit harder. Weather Underground said Cody’s low temperature hit a record at 16 below zero early Wednesday morning. The previous record was 15 below zero on Nov. 24, 1993.

The frigid temperatures were due to an Arctic cold front that dropped into Wyoming from the north, said Andy McNeel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Riverton.

On Thursday, the high is expected to reach 13 degrees under mostly-sunny skies, with a low of 1 degree. Black Friday is forecast as bright with mostly sunny skies and a high of 24 and a low of 13 degrees under partly cloudy skies, according to the National Weather Service.

“We do have a gradual warming trend in place,” McNeel said. “Saturday, we’re talking close to 30 degrees.”

A winter storm warning was issued in Yellowstone National Park and northwest Wyoming Wednesday, but McNeel said he was not expecting road conditions to worsen over Thanksgiving.

People driving Thanksgiving weekend should check highway conditions before embarking and use care in negotiating Wyoming’s snowy roads.

“It’s always a good practice to give WYDOT (Wyoming Department of Transportation) a call,” McNeel said, referring to the department’s road and travel information. Call 1-888-WYO-ROAD (1-888-996-7623), or in Wyoming, simply dial 511.

Road condition information also is available online at www.wyoroad.info.

“It only takes a few minutes and could save you a lot of trouble,” McNeel said.

AAA advises these winter travel tips:

• Slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination.
• Watch for ice on bridges, even when the rest of the road appears dry.
• Look ahead. Actions of other drivers can alert you to potential trouble and afford you extra seconds to react.
• Four-wheel drive can get a vehicle off the start line faster, but it doesn’t stop any sooner than a two-wheel drive.

McNeel advised staying off the highways if icy roads are too daunting for the driver.

“If you’re in doubt,” he said, “it’s always best to not chance it.”

Tribune Staff Writer Gib Mathers wrote this article.