Strong Wind — Laramie Valley, Wyoming

2018-12-11 to 2018-12-12 · Laramie Valley, Wyoming

Event narrative

A single vehicle car crash occurred at milepost 302 on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 about eight miles west of Laramie. The driver lost control of his vehicle to which the vehicle then left the roadway and overturned. The driver succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The interstate was reportedly icy likely from strong winds blowing snow onto the roadways and refreezing. In addition, the driver of vehicle was reported as not wearing a seat belt. A nearby Wyoming Department of Transportation sensor near Herrick Lane had wind gusts measuring around 30 mph around the time of the crash with max winds during the event at 50 mph at 3:00 AM MST.

Wider weather episode

Strong winds mainly across the wind prone areas of southeast Wyoming were howling with intensity through the 11th and 12th. Several Wyoming Department of Transportation sensors along both Interstate 80 and Interstate 25 had measured gusts into the upper 50s and low 60 mph range. A vehicular accident across the Laramie Valley just west of the city of Laramie resulted in the fatality of a male individual when his vehicle slid off a slick patch of road caused by blowing snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 789327. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.