Damaging Winds in Wyoming, July 8, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Wyoming, July 8, 2002
Start: 2002-07-08T16:25
End: 2002-07-08T16:45
Location: Wyoming

July 8, 2002 · NWS UNR · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm moved across Campbell County producing damaging winds. Straight line winds broke several large tree branches and blew over a shed 3 miles south of Gillette.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
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Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $71,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

A severe thunderstorm moved across Campbell County producing damaging winds. Straight line winds broke several large tree branches and blew over a shed 3 miles south of Gillette. Three miles east of Gillette a single wide mobile home was rolled onto a pickup truck. Another mobile home at the same location was moved three feet. Both of these mobile homes were at a sales lot, and were not tied down or secured in any way. Ten miles east of Gillette a trained spotter estimated winds at 70 mph.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 8, 1:30 PM MST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 1:30 PM MST, 2 hours 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY
230 PM MDT MON JUL 08 2002

20Z SURFACE ANALYSIS HAD LOW OVER NORTH CENTRAL WY WITH WARM FRONT
LIFTING THROUGH THE ND/SD BORDER. 2-3MB/3HR PRESSURE FALLS NOTED
OVER NORTHEAST WY/SOUTHEAST MT/WESTERN SD SUPPORTING INCREASING
WINDS ACROSS THE CWA. NEGATIVELY TILTED TROUGH NOTED ON WATER VAPOUR
BLASTING INTO WESTERN MT...AND IS EXPECTED TO LIFT INTO SOUTH
CENTRAL CANADA OVERNIGHT. THUS...THE SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE INTO ND
OVERNIGHT DRAGGING A SHARP WIND SHIFT/COOL FRONT THROUGH THE WESTERN
2/3RDS OF THE CWA. THERMAL RIDGE AHEAD OF UPPER SYSTEM
IMPRESSIVE...SO CAP WILL TAKE SOME EFFORT TO BREAK. WE/RE THINKING
IT WILL BE HARD TO BREAK SOUTH OF I-90 OVERNIGHT. IF TSRA DO DEVELOP
NORTH OF I-90...SHEAR SUFFICIENT FOR SUPERCELLS/SEVERE TSRA. WILL
TIME FRONT THROUGH KRAP BY 12Z.

TUESDAY...COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH REST OF CWA WITH LINGERING
POSSIBILITY OF TSRA ALONG IT. REFRESHING NORTHWEST WIND EXPECTED.
HIGHS WILL BE TRICKY WITH BEST 850-700MB COLD ADVECTION LAGGING
BEHIND 3-6HR. WILL GO NEAR GUIDANCE NORTHWEST AND A LITTLE ABOVE
SOUTHWEST. UPPER TROUGH WILL CLOSE OFF NEAR ND TUESDAY NIGHT. WE/LL
BE ON DRY SIDE SO HAVE TAKEN TSRA OUT OF FORECAST EXCEPT IN SOUTH
CENTRAL SD.

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY...UPPER LOW SPINS SLOWLY SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE
DAKOTAS. HAVE CONFINED TSRA CHANCES TO BE DIURNALLY DRIVEN WEDNESDAY
AND NONE OF THURSDAY GIVEN SUBSIDENCE AND STRONG DRYING.

FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE ROCKIES. WE STAY
ON THE PERIPHERY OF IT...BUT STILL EXPECT MANY READINGS ABOVE 90F.
WILL CONFINE MENTIONABLE TSRA TO MONDAY.

.UNR...NONE.

HELGESON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Campbell

When: July 8, 4:25 PM MST
Where: Campbell County, 3 mi S of Gillette
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $500
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.233, -105.483

Thunderstorm Wind, Campbell

When: July 8, 4:30 PM MST to 4:45 PM MST
Where: Campbell County, 3 mi E of Gillette
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $70,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 44.283, -105.417

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wyoming in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, July 2002

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: 5306396, 5306397.