Wyoming Anniversary: The Blizzard of 1984
33 years ago this week, one of the worst spring storms in Wyoming history dumped nearly three feet of snow on the Cowboy State.
The snow began falling on April 25, 1984, and didn't let up for three days. But wind was the biggest problems. Parts of the state recorded hurricane force gusts which created snowdrifts over 20 feet tall
Roads across Wyoming were impassible for two days. 55 people were reported missing and hundreds of travellers were stranded. Thousands of local residents went without power. In place of snow plows, coal miners near Wright, Wyoming, used earth-moving machinery to help clear the roads. By the time the storm subsided, two ranchers and over 200,000 cattle had died.
To this day, it ranks among the worst blizzards to ever hit Wyoming, along with the May Day Storm of 1844, the "Great Equalizer" of 1905, the Blizzard of 1955 and the "March Madness Storm" of 2003.