How’s the weather down there? Up here in Wyoming our weather is really dictated by our distance from oceans, the fact that we are about halfway to the North Pole, and the arrangement of mountain ranges and valleys.

The moisture that eventually falls as rain or snow in Wyoming evaporates off the ocean. Western Wyoming receives moisture almost exclusively from the Pacific Ocean. In good years, eastern Wyoming also receives some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

Either way, those oceans are a long way from here and much of the moisture that evaporates off those oceans never makes it to Wyoming. That is one of the reasons it is relatively dry out here.

Our high elevation and northern latitudes cause the relatively cool temperatures we enjoy here in the Cowboy State.

Wyoming’s average elevation is sixty seven hundred feet above sea level making it the second highest state in the U.S. Also, our northern latitudes make it easy for cold polar air masses to pay us an occasional visit.

From the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, I’m Paul Meiman.