Buffalo, Sheridan - weather and water (Casper, Story: for sale, house, allergies)

[Dea13]

Ok, I'm a little confused. The different weather sites I've been looking at online show temps in Buffalo/Sheridan to be very consistent with where we live in Wisconsin. I keep reading about -40 & -50 temps in the forum threads, that must be wind chill and not actual temperature, right? I live by open fields so the blowing across the highway or in my backyard can be whiteout with only a few inches of snow coming down so I understand that it doesn't take much snow to ruin driving conditions and I've been in my fair share of blizzards.

Although there's more wind in Buffalo/Sheridan, the humidity is much lower - so to me that's a good tradeoff. My allergies will take wind over humidity any day! I keep reading that the wind isn't as bad as in the rest of Wyoming, true?

On to water. Can anyone recommend a good book or site that explains - in everyday terms - the water situation and rights? If water availability is as bad as it sounds, does everyone have water tankers delivering water (I'm thinking outside town)? I don't want to live in town because we do want room for critters. How do you get water for horses and other animals? If there is water on your property and you don't have water rights, do you have to fence it off to keep your horses, etc from 'stealing' someone else's water?

We want very much to move west for health reasons and once we saw the Buffalo/Sheridan area we can't think of living anywhere else. But to be honest, the water issue is really weighing heavily on my mind. Everything I read might as well be written in Martian because I totally don't understand the 10-syllable words (please believe I'm actually not as stupid as this makes me sound). Am I making too much of the water subject? Do I plan on having to have water brought in? If so, how expensive is that? I'm not a millionaire and I need to know what to expect.

Thanks for any and all replies! Deanna

[ruggedindividual]

Originally Posted by Dea13

Ok, I'm a little confused. The different weather sites I've been looking at online show temps in Buffalo/Sheridan to be very consistent with where we live in Wisconsin. I keep reading about -40 & -50 temps in the forum threads, that must be wind chill and not actual temperature, right?

The coldest it was in Buffalo this year was around -12, actual temperature. Everyone says this has been a long, cold winter. These links show the average temp for the months of December, January & February as well as the record lows. They must be talking about -50 being the wind chill because the coldest its been is -36 degrees in 1963.

December (82834) - weather.com
January (82834) - weather.com
February (82834) - weather.com

I'm not sure about water rights, but the availability of water is definitely something to question when finding land to build on. We're looking for a piece of property, and so far we haven't had a problem with any of the lots we've looked at not having water. I know the land off of Red Hills Road has two different depths at which you can get water, and only one is good water. But further up the interstate, off of Rock Creek Rd there is land for sale with good water at around 200 feet. We also looked at property on Lake DeSmet and were told by our Realtor that the land sits on a coal bed and the water is a concern there as well.

[ElkHunter]

Well, I'm not talking wind chill. I've seen -58 in 72 or 73.

This year in Sheridan, we hit -22, -23 in January for a couple days.

And I for one, do not count wind chill. It's a fictional number. Has nothing to do with cars, well water, and such. It's strictly computed on the temp, and the wind, and the moisture in the air, and then computes what the currently conditions "Feel Like" on bare skin.

I don't run around outside naked, so Wind Chill doesn't count.

Water. I see a lot of ranchers and folks that live in the rural area with plastic water containers on the back of their pickups. They haul their own water. They pick up the city water from a water distribution station in the park. As to a service that delivers, I suppose there's some around, but I haven't seen any.

[Dea13]

Thanks guys!

So, it sounds like -40 & -50 is not the norm. We've had -20 & -30 in Wisconsin this year and others so it sounds like the sites I've been reading that state the temps are similar weren't bogus. That's good to know.

Elkhunter, I agree with you about the wind chill - I don't pay much attention to it either.

So now it comes down to understanding the water issues and, of course, money - sure wish Monopoly money counted in the real world

I wish I was there now. The pictures don't do the area justice. And the people were very nice. Everywhere we went had very helpful, friendly people. Actually, that was true for most of Wyoming. I don't think we'll get out there again until June/July now. Still trying to sell our house here in a horrendous market.

Deanna

[ruggedindividual]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Well, I'm not talking wind chill. I've seen -58 in 72 or 73.

This year in Sheridan, we hit -22, -23 in January for a couple days.

Just searched the farmers almanac and Sheridan's coldest recorded temperature was -37 in 1983. Were you up on the mountain when you saw -58?

-14 was as cold as it got in Buffalo. We're usually quite a few degrees warmer than Sheridan it seems.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by navyvet79

Just searched the farmers almanac and Sheridan's coldest recorded temperature was -37 in 1983. Were you up on the mountain when you saw -58?

-14 was as cold as it got in Buffalo. We're usually quite a few degrees warmer than Sheridan it seems.

No, and yes. haha I was living in Sheridan, but working in Decker Montana. Coal mine has it on record, it was while we were building Decker Coal. I'm not sure if they have any recorders or people recording in that area. Town of Decker has one couple, one single guy, and one single woman at that time. Couple run the Post office. Guy run the bar. The woman had a restaurant that we used to grab lunch at.

You mentioned being a little warmer then Sheridan. Depends on the weather pattern. NORMALLY, (strange word this year, haha) the weather comes in across Washington, Idaho, Montana and then starts down this side of the Big Horns. The East face of the Big Horns tend to kick the weather out about Story and it passes East of Buffalo. However, this year, for some reason, the weather has been coming up from San Diego and the Southern end of the Big Horns. So this year has been screwy. Think about it. Denver and East of there has been hammered with snow this year and last year and we, basically, haven't gotten squat. Nebraska, Kansas, Ok, and Texas have been getting snow and South Dakota, Minnisota, Iowa, havn't been getting much. We've been getting the cold from the arctic fronts coming down from Canada, but not near the snow they've been getting.

[Dea13]

So, how do people get water for their animals? If you have a creek, etc running through your property, it's not legal to let your animals drink out of it, correct? Do you have to bring in water? Do you get a separate well permit?

Any books that explain the water issues and rights in layman's terms?

We have well and septic where we live now and honestly the water stuff is puzzling. I live less than a mile from Lake Michigan and my well hits a vein form Lake Superior (or so we've been told). With the Great Lakes around us and all the other lakes and rivers, the concept of not enough water is hard to fathom.

Also, my daughter pointed something out the last time we were in Wyoming. If water is such an issue, why do some parks leave their water fountains (or bubblers as we call them) running? My daughter asked me and I couldn't give her a good answer. We had explained about water conservation and have been trying to practice that at home also.

Thanks. Dea

[ruggedindividual]

Originally Posted by Dea13

So, how do people get water for their animals? If you have a creek, etc running through your property, it's not legal to let your animals drink out of it, correct? Do you have to bring in water? Do you get a separate well permit?

Any books that explain the water issues and rights in layman's terms?

We have well and septic where we live now and honestly the water stuff is puzzling. I live less than a mile from Lake Michigan and my well hits a vein form Lake Superior (or so we've been told). With the Great Lakes around us and all the other lakes and rivers, the concept of not enough water is hard to fathom.

Also, my daughter pointed something out the last time we were in Wyoming. If water is such an issue, why do some parks leave their water fountains (or bubblers as we call them) running? My daughter asked me and I couldn't give her a good answer. We had explained about water conservation and have been trying to practice that at home also.

Thanks. Dea

Not enough water = The West. The two are synonymous, really.

The fountains probably are just recycling the same water through a submersible pump and filter to give the impression of continuously flowing water. Chances are the water in the fountain is the same water that was put there when the fountain was first built.

[Dea13]

Sorry for the confusion NavyVet, I meant drinking fountains. Not the fountains that just cascade water. I was trying so hard to remember not to call them bubblers because I didn't want to confuse anyone There were many drinking fountains where the water would be running continuously and just run down the drain or splash over the side onto the sidewalk.

That's really just something I found interesting because my daughter noticed it and until she brought it to my attention, I never caught it. Amazing how children do that! Not really looking for an answer but if there is a good one I can share with her, I'd be happy to pass it along.

I'm more interested in learning about watering animals and recommendations for books if there are any.

Thanks. Dea

[stanman13]

This is a concern for me, too. I am a Michigander, lifelong, but am considering moving to Wyoming. Here in Michigan, we take water for granted. You are never more than a mile from surface water, and anywhere you go you can put in a good well. I understand that this is not the case in the west, but how bad is it? If I move somewhere on the outskirts of town (say, Casper), can I expect to be able to put in a good well?