Wyoming, 2010

Heavy Snow in Wyoming, April 5 to 6, 2010

April 5 to 6, 2010 · NWS CYS · 11 events in 5 counties and zones

A slow moving storm system moved over the area on 5th and 6th. The Sierra Madre and Snowy mountain ranges received the most snowfall, while only a few isolated locations in the lower elevations received heavy snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 CYS wrote it up.

A slow moving storm system moved over the area on 5th and 6th. The Sierra Madre and Snowy mountain ranges received the most snowfall, while only a few isolated locations in the lower elevations received heavy snow.

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 Apr 5, 9:10 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 9:10 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 5, 4:15 AM MST, 6 hours 45 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 5, 7:27 AM MST, 3 hours 33 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Sierra Madre Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Sierra Madre Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 21.0 inches of snow was reported at Divide Peak. Elevation of the station is 8880 ft.

Heavy Snow, Sierra Madre Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Sierra Madre Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 18.0 inches of snowfall occurred at Battle Mountain. Elevation of the site is 7440 ft.

Heavy Snow, Sierra Madre Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Sierra Madre Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 22.5 inches of snowfall was reported at Sandstone Ranger Station. Elevation of the site is 8150 ft.

Heavy Snow, Sierra Madre Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Sierra Madre Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 18.0 inches of snowfall was reported at Webber Springs. Elevation of the site is 9250 ft.

Heavy Snow, Sierra Madre Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Sierra Madre Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Little Snake River reported an estimated 22.5 inches of snowfall. Elevation of the site is 8915 ft.

Heavy Snow, Sierra Madre Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Sierra Madre Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 16.5 inches of snowfall was reported at Whiskey Park. Elevation of the site is 8950 ft.

Heavy Snow, Snowy Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Snowy Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.675, -106.327 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 18.0 inches of snowfall was reported at the Blackhall Mountain site. Elevation of the site is 9820 ft.

Heavy Snow, Snowy Range

When
April 5, 11:00 AM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Snowy Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.675, -106.327 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 14.0 inches of snowfall was reported at Sand Lake. Elevation of the site is 10050 ft.

Heavy Snow, Niobrara County

When
April 5, 11:00 PM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Niobrara County forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.057, -104.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The observer at Redbird measured 7.0 inches of snowfall, with 0.76 inches of liquid precipitation.

At 2000MST the observer located at Lusk 25NE measured 6.0 inches of snowfall, with 0.90 inches of liquid precipitation.

Heavy Snow, Central Carbon County

When
April 5, 11:00 PM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
Central Carbon County forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
41.695, -106.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 16.8 inches of snowfall occurred at the Sage Creek Basin station. Elevation of the site is 7850 ft.

Heavy Snow, North Laramie Range

When
April 5, 11:00 PM MST to April 6, 9:33 PM MST
Where
North Laramie Range forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
42.253, -105.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An estimated 15.0 inches of snowfall was reported at Windy Peak. Elevation of the site is 7900 ft.

An estimated 12.0 inches of snowfall was reported at Leprele Creek. Elevation of the site is 8375 ft.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wyoming in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, April 2010

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 221270, 221271, 221272, 221275, 221276, 221277, 221278, 221279, 221267, 221268, 221283.