Laramie airport sets new heat record as storms loom this weekend

Laramie Wyoming Airport set a new high temperature on July 20, and the National Weather Service Cheyenne office logged the record in a July 21 update. The airport, also tracked in National Weather Service climate and record-report pages under KLAR, now has another mark in a heat history that already includes some of Laramie’s sharpest summer spikes.

The new record lands in the middle of a hot stretch that can ripple through daily life in Albany County. Very warm and hot temperatures were expected to continue into the weekend, raising air-conditioning demand, making outdoor work harder for crews and ranch hands, and adding stress for pets left in parked vehicles or unshaded yards. On roads and trails around Laramie, the combination of heat and dry ground can also make recreation less forgiving, especially when people push through the afternoon hours.

The forecast adds a second layer of concern. The National Weather Service Cheyenne forecast office said monsoon moisture would move into the area over the weekend and into the following week, with increasing thunderstorm coverage by Sunday and Monday. For Albany County, that means the same stretch that drives up heat-related strain could also bring lightning, sudden downpours and fast-changing conditions for people working outdoors, camping, or heading into the hills west of town.

Laramie’s weather record does not stand alone in local memory. A July 2024 heat story pointed back to July 12, 1954, when Laramie saw a 93-degree afternoon, then the hottest July 12 on record for the city. Historical temperature listings for Laramie show the city’s all-time highs have generally sat in the low-to-mid 90s, which makes July 20’s mark notable without being outside the range of what the area can produce in an extreme summer.

That history matters because the airport’s new record is not just a number in a logbook. It sits inside a pattern that local residents already feel in utility bills, work schedules, wildfire watchfulness and weekend plans from town to the Snowy Range. With heat holding through the weekend and thunderstorms building after that, Albany County is headed into a fast-changing stretch that could test both comfort and caution.