Name: High Wind in Wyoming, May 22, 2002
Start: 2002-05-22T03:30
End: 2002-05-22T14:35
Location: Wyoming

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $75,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 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 Cheyenne, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 1:15 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 1:15 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
215 AM MDT WED MAY 22 2002

UPR LOW MOVG ABOUT AS PROGGED ACRS FAR NRN WY.  PCPN BAND HAS SHFTD
E OUT OF AREA WITH CDFNT.  WRAPARND MSTR AND SOME SHWRS MOVG BACK
INTO FAR WRN PART OF AREA.  ALL MDLS POINT TO 35-50 KTS AT 700 MB
MOVG ACRS AREA TDA...SO WILL POST HI WIND WRNG S CNTRL AND USUAL
WINDY AREAS OF SE...RUFFLY RWL-DGW-CYS AREA.  INHERITED A WND ADVY
FOR THE PNHNDL...AND THAT STILL LOOKS GOOD FOR TODAY.  SOME LOW POPS
MTNS AND WEST...OTRW DRY.  MOST OF WRAPARND MSTR STAYS N OF AREA
TNGT INTO THU...SO ONLY MINIMAL POPS WRN/NRN SXNS.  BIG DIFFERENCES
BTWN ETA/AVN START SHOWING UP THU AFTN INTO FRI.  AVN HAS
FLIP-FLOPPED ON THIS UPR FTR...IT NOW SHOWS A DECENT UPR TROF MOVG
ACRS THE REGION MAINLY ON FRI.  ETA NOT AS STG AND LITTLE QUICKER.
WILL LEAN TWDS ETA FOR NOW...BUT WILL STILL HAVE CHC POPS MNLY SE WY.
OF COURSE ITS COLD ENUF FOR SNOW ABOVE ABOUT 5500 FEET.  SYSTEM
MOVES OUT QUICKLY FRI NGT...WITH A DRY WARMUP FOR THE WEEKEND AS UPR
RDG MOVES INTO REGION.

.CYS...
WY...HI WND WRNG  PARTS SCNTRL/SE  TDA     ZNS 59..61>67..69..70.
NE...WND ADVY     WRN 2/3 PNHNDL   TDA     ZNS 1>3..19>21..54>55.

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Cheyenne Foothills / C Laramie

When: May 22, 3:30 AM MST to 2:35 PM MST
Where: Cheyenne Foothills / C Laramie forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, North Laramie Range / X S Converse / N Albany / X Se Natrona

When: May 22, 3:30 AM MST to 2:35 PM MST
Where: North Laramie Range / X S Converse / N Albany / X Se Natrona forecast zone
Measured: 71 kt (82 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Platte

When: May 22, 3:30 AM MST to 2:35 PM MST
Where: Platte forecast zone
Measured: 82 kt (94 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Snowy Range / Se Carbon / X Sw Albany

When: May 22, 3:30 AM MST to 2:35 PM MST
Where: Snowy Range / Se Carbon / X Sw Albany forecast zone
Measured: 66 kt (76 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Sustained winds of 50 to 70 mph blew over parts of southeast Wyoming with gusts as high as94 mph recorded on Interstate 25 south of Wheatland, WY. The high winds resulted in over 20tractor trailers and cars towing trailers being blown over, subsequently closing Interstate 25for a time. A few trees were blown onto houses and automobiles in Wheatland. Other windgusts recorded included 82 mph at Esterbrook, WY, 76 mph at Arlington, WY and 67 mph on Interstate 25 about 20 miles north of Cheyenne, WY.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wyoming in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, May 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: 5290279, 5290280, 5290281, 5290282.