Winter Storm — Wind River Mountains West, Wyoming

2023-01-01 to 2023-01-02 · Wind River Mountains West, Wyoming

Event narrative

A combination of strong wind and snowfall brought near zero visibility across South Pass that resulted in the closure of Highway 28 for many hours.

Wider weather episode

A potent winter storm rang in the New Year across Wyoming and brought heavy snow across much of the area, leading to numerous road closures, including Interstates 25 and 80, and severely hampering holiday travel. The heaviest snow fell East of the Divide. In the Wind River Mountains, as much as 27 inches of new snow fell. The Lander area saw the highest snowfall totals in the populated areas, with anywhere from 15 to 22 inches around town. Over a foot of snow also fell in the lower elevations of Lincoln, Natrona, Sublette and Sweetwater Counties. The snow was also accompanied by wind gusts close to 50 mph in the favored locations, bring near zero visibility with blowing and drifting snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1074188. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.