High Wind — East Sweetwater County, Wyoming

2022-11-05 · East Sweetwater County, Wyoming

Event narrative

A wind gust of 64 mph was reported at the Sweetwater County airport to the east of Rock Springs. The wind was accompanied by snow which brought very difficult travel conditions along Interstate 80.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure passed across Wyoming and brought a combination of heavy snow in the mountains and high winds in the lee of the Absaroka Range, lee of the Wind River Range, and the wind corridor from eastern Sweetwater to Natrona County. The heaviest snow fell in the Tetons, where up to 20 inches of new snow was reported at the local ski resort. Many more locations saw high wind. The highest reported wind gust was 111 mph at Red Canyon along South Pass. Wind gusts past 58 mph were also reported in portions of Fremont, Johnson, Natrona, Park and Sweetwater Counties. The snow and wind closed some roads, especially mountain passes, including South Pass.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1067315. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.