Deadly 100 mph wind event leaves widespread damage in Wyoming
Tree and sidewalk An uprooted pine tree is pictured in Cheyenne in the 2800 block of West 28th Street on Thursday. A wind storm with peak gusts of 92 mph caused several trees and power lines to fall across the capital city. Photo by Alyssa Tolman, Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
SHERIDAN — An unusual statewide wind event March 12 and 13 forced Interstate closures and left widespread damage in its wake.
According to Wyoming Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Aaron Brown, there were as many as 32 blowover crashes across the state due to the wind March 12.
Of the crashes, at least 15 took place on Interstate 25, with nearly half of them between Cheyenne and the Colorado border.
On Interstate 80, as many as 12 occurred between Laramie and Arlington. While most crashes resulted in minor injuries, the wind appears to have also been a factor in one fatality in Fremont County on State Highway 28, Brown said.
Due to the severity of the winds, WYDOT closed some highways, including I-80 and I-25 in southeast Wyoming, to all trucks and trailers regardless of weight. I-25 south of Cheyenne was closed to all traffic because of wind-related crashes in Colorado.
Sheridan experienced wind gusts up to 70 mph but there were no reported blowovers in the area and Interstate 90 remained open.
The total number of blow-over crashes is expected to change as the Wyoming Department of Transportation and WHP continue processing crash reports.
WYDOT’s salt/sand storage sheds in Arlington and Quealy Dome west of Laramie were destroyed by the wind, and some rest areas including Bitter Creek and Kaycee sustained damages. Multiple trees on WYDOT’s Cheyenne Headquarters campus fell during the wind event, Brown said.
Winds were too strong for crews to recover crashed vehicles safely late last week. Drivers are reminded to move over and slow down for wrecking crews clearing the blown-over vehicles on the side of the highways in the coming days, Brown said.
“Our Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers and dispatchers demonstrated exceptional dedication and professionalism in the face of extreme wind gusts that reached up to 109 mph,” WHP Operations Commander Lt. Col. Karl German said in a press release.
A weather pattern with tightening pressure gradients created a strong low-level jet over the area, combining with the southeastern region’s higher elevation and mixing of winds from above, producing extremely high winds, Cheyenne National Weather Service Colby Goatley said.
This story was published on March 16, 2026.