EF2 tornado in Goshen County, Wyoming

A large cone tornado developed just east of US-85 south of Hawk Springs, before quickly becoming rain-wrapped. The tornado snapped cottonwood trees, with a tree branch impaling a stucco house. It also damaged outbuildings and snapped power poles. An injury occurred when the tornado flipped an 18-wheeler and injured the driver. The same tornado tracked to the southeast and damaged another outbuilding and a barn 3 miles southeast of Hawk Springs. The tornado was officially rated an EF-2. In addition to the tornado damage, straight-line winds from the Rear Flank Downdraft (RFD) damaged several hardwood trees. This is consistent with 100 MPH winds.

An intense, long-lived supercell initially developed near the town of Chugwater over the higher terrain of the central Laramie Range around 3:00 PM on 6/23, tracking to the east-southeast across southern Platte and Goshen Counties through approximately 7:00 PM. A small, terrain-driven area of low pressure and resultant cyclonic flow resulted in moisture pooling and backed, easterly near-surface flow near the track of the storm which resulted in a favorable environment for tornadoes. The cyclic supercell produced 5 separate confirmed tornadoes, most notably including an EF-2 tornado which developed near the town of Hawk Springs. A swath of large hail up to two inches in diameter also occurred with this storm. A separate storm over far northwestern Converse County also produced a brief tornado that afternoon. A second round of strong to severe thunderstorms impacted Platte and Goshen Counties later in the day.