Five years ago, on June 6, 2018, the mother of all tornadoes descended on Laramie. It was one of the largest in Wyoming's documented history and earned the title "Tornado of the Year" from the Washington Post. Beautiful, terrible, and destructive, the funnel cloud was an extraordinary sight to behold.

It was also incredibly rare for Wyoming and especially for Laramie. According to data from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), from 1953 to 2015, only 23 tornadoes were recorded in Albany County, Wyoming. Of those 23, one was an EF-2 rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, capable of 111-135 mph winds.

But an EF-2 pales in comparison to the EF-3 twister that struck Laramie in 2018. That monster came with windspeeds of up to 165 mph and the capability of destroying roofs, flipping trains, and flinging cars from the ground.

Even if the entirety of Wyoming is taken into account, an EF-3 twister remains a rare phenomenon in the Cowboy State. Out of the 635 tornadoes documented by NOAA since 1950 in Wyoming, only 11 were classified as EF-3 level tornadoes.

EF-3 Tornadoes in Wyoming History

  • Goshen County - 06/26/1955
  • Platte County - 06/27/1955
  • Laramie County - 04/23/1960
  • Fremont County -  06/16/1962
  • Crook County -  07/12/1965
  • Crook County - 06/25/1975
  • Laramie County - 07/16/1979 (this twister left 40 injured and 1 dead in Laramie County.)
  • Big Horn County -  08/02/1985
  • Campbell County - 06/01/2018
  • Albany County -  06/06/2018
  • Converse County - 07/28/2018

What made Laramie's 2018 Twister even more impressive was that a satellite tornado developed off it, essentially a baby twister, which ranked in at an EF-2.

 

Thankfully, no injuries or deaths were reported as a result of the 2018 tornado. Laramie is simply left with photographic reminders of the event and the impressive record of having experienced the "2018 Tornado of the Year."

Extreme Weather of Laramie: West Side Flooding 2023

Photos from Laramie’s West Side exemplify the drainage problems on the dirt roads, causing flooding.