See Damage from the June 6 Snowy Range Tornado
The National Weather Service in Cheyenne confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in the Snowy Mountains north of Turpin Reservoir during the afternoon of June 6.
The agency said, "The short-lived tornado snapped and uprooted hundreds of trees along a 1.21 mile long path that was up to 600 yards wide at one point. Based on the damage, maximum estimated wind speeds were 105 MPH."
The agency says the twister occurred during a rare derecho event. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived wind storm, often associated with bands of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.
101.9 King FM listener Jack Thiel was in the area this week and sent us these dramatic pictures of some of the damage:
"The first note of tree damage from the tornado occurred on Forest Service Road 115
(FS115) that ran west of the main Forest Service Road 100 (FS100) at an elevation
around 9200 feet. Sporadic softwood pine trees were uprooted along FS115 and fell to
the N/NW direction. The survey team continued north on FS100, and additional tree
branches and smaller pine trees were uprooted. Progressing farther north along FS100,
tree damage became more widespread and severe with degree of damage indicators increasing as more snapped softwood pine trees were cataloged and noted. This portion of FS100 decreases in elevation and into a narrow localized valley along Turpin Creek to the north and northwest."