Blizzard, Gillette
- When
- January 9, 2:00 AM MST to January 10, 6:00 AM MST
- Where
- Gillette forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Wyoming, January 9 to 10, 1997
Two to eight inches of snow combined with 50 mph winds to reduce visibilities to zero. Along with hazardous travel conditions, wind chill indices dropped to 60 below zero.
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.
Two to eight inches of snow combined with 50 mph winds to reduce visibilities to zero. Along with hazardous travel conditions, wind chill indices dropped to 60 below zero.
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 9, 2:00 AM MST to January 10, 6:00 AM MST
- Where
- South Campbell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.248, -105.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Moorcroft
- When
- January 9, 2:00 AM MST to January 10, 6:00 AM 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 9, 2:00 AM MST to January 10, 6:00 AM 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 9, 2:00 AM MST to January 10, 6:00 AM 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 9 to 11, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 9 to 10, 1997
- Winter Weather in New York, January 9, 1997
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 9 to 10, 1997
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 9 to 10, 1997
- Cold in Ohio, January 9, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 9 to 11, 1997
- Ice Storm in North Carolina, January 9, 1997
- Blizzard in Iowa, January 9 to 11, 1997
- Winter Storm in Vermont, January 9 to 10, 1997
- Ice Storm in South Carolina, January 9, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 9, 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: 5584639, 5584640, 5584641, 5584642, 5584643.