Climate and Weather: Cody
Cody, Wyoming, lies just east of the high plateau of Yellowstone National Park and is considered the park's eastern gateway. Cody is located at the western edge of the Bighorn Basin, a depression surrounded by the Big Horn, Wind River, and Absaroka ranges. At the western edge of Cody, a deep canyon formed by the North Fork of the Shoshone River provides the only passage to Yellowstone's Eastern Entrance.
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The weather in the Big Horns are highly variable. Large temperature swings are always possible. Cold winters can normally bring lows of -40 °F (-40 °C). and hot summers can bring 100 °F (38 °C). The humidity of the air is usually 30% or less, which is fairly dry. Precipitation averages 9 inches (229 mm) of rain per year, making the surrounding area a semi-arid desert. During the summer months of June, July and August, if it does snow, it is usually brief and melts quickly. Such events are not frequent, but there are sudden and drastic shifts in weather conditions.
Climbers take note: Cody enjoys about 300 days of sunshine per year.
Wind is almost a constant presence in the Cody area and the Big Horn Basin in general. The air flow in the Basin is turbulent, but during the winter, most storms seem to move in from the north-northwest. During the summer, it is not unusual to see storms move in from the southwest. Throughout a normal day, winds can be experienced as coming from almost any direction, mostly from the north and west, but sometimes from the south and east. The Canyon at the west end of Cody seems to funnel rain and wind across the city from the west. The winds can be quite strong at 30 to 40 mph (50 to 60 km/h) and last for several days.