NWS Cheyenne: Cold Weather Advisory for Newborn Livestock

Cold Advisory for Newborn Livestock (CANL)

CANL is now an Official NWS product. See the product discription document for more information about CANL. Also, more information is available at the bottom of this page. Your comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome using the electronic survey provided at the bottom of this page. Your feedback will help us determine product utility and if any modifications may be needed.

The CANL graphics below show the risk of cold exposure to newborn livestock. The risk is related to wind chill temperature, precipitation, and humidity, and ranges from "NONE" for no risk, to "EXTREME" for rare and particularly dangerous situations. The images below are each valid for a 6 hour time period out to 36 hours. Click on the image to see more detail including valid time. The CANL images are updated daily at 5 am.

CANL Index graphics for each forecast period (click on image to see full size):

6 Hour Forecast

12 Hour Forecast

18 Hour Forecast

24 Hour Forecast

30 Hour Forecast

36 Hour Forecast

Based on our research and feedback from the ranching community, the following were identified as hazardous weather elements that increased risk of problems or death to exposed newborns:

Wind chill
Rain or Wet Snow
High Humidity (because it makes it more difficult to dry off the animal)
Combinations of these elements (such as windchill and rain) are particularly dangerous
Sunshine vs. Cloudy Days

The criteria used to generate the forecasts from the tab above is seen below:

NONE: Wind Chill above 41 degrees
SLIGHT: Wind Chill less than 41 degrees for 2 or more hours
MILD: Wind Chill less than 32 degrees for 2 or more hours
MODERATE: Wind Chill less than 0 degrees for 2 or more hours or Wind Chill less than 32 degrees and .02" precipitation
SEVERE: Wind Chill of -9 degrees or colder for two or more hours, or wind chill of less than 32 degrees and .05" of precipitation
EXTREME: Wind Chill of -18 or colder for two or more hours, or wind chill less than 32 degrees and .1" of precipitation

For sunny conditions (Cloud cover less than 40%), reduce SLIGHT-EXTREME by one category
For humid conditions (Minimum relative humidity's remaining above 95%), increase MOD-SEVERE by one category
For dry snow conditions (Maximum temperature remains less than 26F), double the precipitation thresholds for MOD-EXTREME

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National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office