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Severe Storms Rock Central Wyoming

June 28, 2003 - Severe thunderstorms rocked central Wyoming with heavy rain, large hail, and numerous sightings of funnel clouds Saturday evening.  A cold front moving south across central Wyoming pushed moist and very unstable air up against the east slopes of the Wind River Mountains.  Thunderstorms began to form in northwest Fremont County  around 2 PM with Riverton Doppler Radar indicating rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches an hour southeast of Dubois (see Storm Total Precipitation map below).   Shortly after 3 PM, a supercell thunderstorm began to form about 20 miles northwest of Crowheart and head southeast, feeding on the moist and unstable upslope winds pushing up against the Wind River Mountains.  Doppler radar showed strong rotation in the storm with a possible tornado.   The storm hit Fort Washakie around 5 PM with golfball-sized hail along with numerous sightings of funnel clouds.  Shortly afterwards, a K-2 news crew spotted a tornado seven miles north of Lander.  The storm continued to track southeast hitting parts of Lander with one inch diameter hail.   The track of the supercell storm is clealy identified by the yellow path running from Dubois southeast near Lander and into southeast Fremont County.   A separate storm formed in northwest Natrona County east of Lysite.  As the graphic shows, this nearly stationary storm dumped an estimated 4 to 5 inches of rainfall over a small area causing flash flooding along the Badwater Creek that flows east through Lysite.   

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