Winter Storm — Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming

2020-09-07 to 2020-09-08 · Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming

Event narrative

The Timber Creek SNOTEL site recorded 12 inches of snow.

Wider weather episode

An unusually cold air mass dropped southward behind a cold front that moved across Wyoming. The front combined with ample moisture as well as strong mid and upper levels winds to bring an historic early season storm to much of western and central Wyoming. Many areas East of the Continental Divide, especially in the higher elevations and adjacent foothills, saw large amounts of snow. The highest amounts fell in the Wind River Range and Casper Mountain where up to 18 inches of new snow fell. Many areas around Casper and Lander, Wyoming, saw up to a foot of snow. The heavy, wet snow fell on trees with full foliage and brought down branches, limbs and in some cases entire trees. The trees fell on power lines causing numerous power outages. In western and southern Wyoming, wind was the main hazard. The strongest winds occurred in Sweetwater County, with wind gusts as high as 86 mph reported at the Rock Springs airport. Numerous trees were downed in Rock Springs and Green River, leading to thousands losing power. Portions of Teton and Sublette Counties also saw widespread tree damage and loss of power.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 920023. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.