Now this is a headline that I never thought I would write
for any news story or column: Tornadoes strike Wyoming.
But on Monday,
June 12, sightings of up to 20 tornadoes were reported all across the state,
luckily not killing anyone but causing lots of damage and scaring the heck out
of everyone.
Along with
that came 90 mph winds in some places and hailstones the size of baseballs.
It was a long
night as power went out, trees came down and punishing wind, rain, and hail
bombarded folks from little Otto up in northwest Wyoming to the State Capitol
in Cheyenne some 400 miles away.
Just about
everybody in between those two locations experienced some kind of oddball
extreme weather event.
Perhaps the
worst event was at the Lay Ranch, 30 miles north of Torrington.
This ranch
family endured a terrible fire last year; then, during the tornado June 12,
they lost just about every other structure that was still standing.
Michelle Lay
reported on Facebook: “The barns are gone, the shop is gone, tractors are gone,
just gone. We are thankful we are all still here and well. We`ll try to keep
our heads up and our spirits, but bear with us, as this is tougher than the
fire last year for us. If we seem grouchy or hurt please help us. We thank
everyone for everything they`re doing and greatly appreciate it!”
According to a
GoFundMe effort to raise $10,000 for the family, “ . . . had to put down 2
horses and take 2 horses into the vet to get stitched back up. The tornado took
the big shop, and the big barn and just leveled it. Uprooted all the
trees, have damages to the other 2 barns and the house. It has totaled out 2
horse trailers plus other vehicles.”
Up in Otto, a
talented photographer, Michelle Olsen, was busy snapping images of tornadoes
that swirled around her little town.
Damage was not
extensive as there is an awful lot of empty ground up there; the images she was
able to capture are amazing. Check out her Facebook page.
An early news
report said that 20 tornadoes were reported in the state. The estimate was later lowered to 18 and in
some reports, to 11.
Now 20 is a
heckuva list of tornadoes but does anyone in Wyoming remember a time when more
than one tornado was reported in the state?
There was a
tornado 10 miles northeast of Cheyenne, another one near Pine Bluffs, a tornado
touched down at Bar Nunn, north of Casper and tornado sightings were also in
Kaycee and Otto.
Here in my
hometown of Lander, we saw 72-mph gusts of wind with some places claiming gusts
over 90 mph. Lots of trees down and more than 200 electrical power outages. Our
home was off power from 7 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. Wind gusts of 67 were reported
in Farson and 62 mph in Rock Springs. Wheatland also endured hailstorms.
Tom Satterfield
of Cheyenne reports: “We were on our way back from Dubois, and noted a very
large thunder cloud to the east.
“As we turned into Cheyenne everything
changed. A hailstorm had just quit and people were coming out
of their houses to assess the damage of billiard ball sized hail. Cars on
the street had broken windshields and rear windows. The ground was white. We had
shattered skylights and lots of hail and glass all over. We found anything
that was plastic or terra cotta was smashed and there was about 12 to18 inches
of branches and leaves all over the back yards. The poor Aspen trees had
been almost denuded.
“Mark Stewart had been helping his
parents Patty and Mack cover their broken skylights. He climbed on our roof and
covered ours to keep out the bugs, birds and any rain. He was our angel.
Those hail stones put deep depressions in my lawn (looks like it was aerated)
and could have done serious damage to the human body. It was a memorable
day where all I thought I had to do was drive home and cut my lawn.”
All this
weather came as a result of fast-moving cold front, which stormed across
Wyoming. The front not only cooled down the mountains slowing down flooding but
also dumped measurable snowfall at high elevations all across the state.
Wyoming is well
known as a windy state but as a tornado state?
Not until June 12, 2017.
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