Flood — Washakie, Wyoming

2017-02-10 to 2017-02-15 · near Worland, Washakie, Wyoming

Event narrative

Rapidly warming temperatures after a prolonged cold spell, rapidly melted snow in the Big Horn Basin. This, combined with the frozen Big Horn River breaking up, produced flooding in Washakie County, especially in the vicinity of Worland. Over 100 homes were evacuated in the low lying residential areas along the river. Some residents were out of their homes for three days before finally being allowed back as the water receded on February 14th. The water receded after February 15th as the ice jam moved northward into Big Horn County.

Wider weather episode

A rapid warm up following several weeks of below normal temperatures and above average snowfall led to flooding along the Big Horn River in Washakie and Big Horn Counties. The result was rapidly rising rivers due to ice jams from rivers breaking up as well as rapid snow melt. The Worland area was the hardest hit area. Over 100 homes were evacuated in low lying areas near the river in Worland as it rose to around 13.9 feet, well above flood stage. The water receded as the ice jam moved northward. Residents were allowed to return to their homes on the 14th but large ice blocks remained in neighborhoods for days afterward. The flooding then moved northward into Big Horn County. Minor flooding was reported from Basin north through Greybull. However, in these areas flooding was restricted to low lying areas and little or no property damage occurred. Over 100 National Guard members and firefighters were called in to sandbag and help shore up levees along the river.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.9991, -107.9762)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 678393. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.