Blizzard, Gillette
- When
- January 4, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Gillette forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Wyoming, January 4, 1997
Three to five inches of snow combined with 40 mph winds created hazardous travel conditions. Visibility was near zero at times with blowing and drifting snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS UNR wrote it up.
Three to five inches of snow combined with 40 mph winds created hazardous travel conditions. Visibility was near zero at times with blowing and drifting snow.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, South Campbell
- When
- January 4, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- South Campbell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Moorcroft
- When
- January 4, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Moorcroft forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.589, -104.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Wyoming Black Hills
- When
- January 4, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Wyoming Black Hills forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.215, -104.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Weston
- When
- January 4, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Weston forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.841, -104.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Tornado in Kentucky, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, January 4, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 4 to 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
More
Every storm in Wyoming in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5584634, 5584635, 5584636, 5584637, 5584638.