Blizzard — East Laramie County, Wyoming

2021-03-14 · East Laramie County, Wyoming

Event narrative

Pine Bluffs Municipal Airport AWOS station K82V reported 35 MPH wind gusts and one quarter mile visibility. Area webcams showed whiteout conditions. Interstate 80 from Cheyenne to the Nebraska state border was closed from 3:40 AM MDT March 14th until 9:20 AM MDT March 17th. Pine Bluffs area reported around 20 inches of storm total snowfall.

Wider weather episode

Historic winter storm crippled much of southeast Wyoming with heavy wet snow followed by strong winds and blizzard conditions. Cheyenne received 22.7 inches of snowfall in 24 hours (storm total 30.8 inches) with 4 to 6 foot drifts developing all over. Highest snowfall amount reported over 70 inches (4.5 inches snow water equivalent) in the North Laramie Range. Most areas were digging out from the storm for at least the following week as snow plows got stuck on roadways. Received numerous reports of roof collapses due to the heavy, wet snow. Areas of southeast Wyoming also experienced thundersnow with the heavier snow bands early Sunday morning.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 938165. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.