4 Campers Flipped By Wind, Boysen Park Wyoming

Was it a tornado or a microburst?

First day of Memorial Day weekend.

Boysen State Park, Wyoming.

May 26, 2023.

Weekend camping was interrupted by what was described as a "small tornado," that flipped campers and 5th wheels.

But was it a "tornado?" meteorologists are not sure at this time.

There can be a couple of possible answers.

Spring storms have been building and pushing hard winds, producing tornadoes and dropping hail all over Wyoming.

We want the rain.

We don't need this.

Boysen State Park is located in Fremont County, Wyoming, at the mouth of the Wind River Canyon, and near the town of Shoshoni.

Boysen State Park is a public recreation area surrounding the Boysen Reservoir.

The state park covers more than 35,000 acres at the south end of the Owl Creek Mountains at the mouth of the Wind River Canyon.

Special thanks to David Patterson for allowing us to use these photos.

Several campers totaled due to a small tornado at Boysen! (David Patterson).

It was Friday afternoon when four campers were wrecked.

The wind even broke a power pole and damaged two transformers.

Only minor injuries were reported. Ambulances were not sent to the scene.

We were in Thermopolis Saturday. Definitely some campers turned upside down as we drove by. (Stacie McFall Facebook).

Microbursts can be caused by mid-level dry air entrainment, cooling beneath the thunderstorm cloud base, and sublimation. that occurs when the cloud base is above the freezing level. The existence of rain and/or hail within the thunderstorm. that causes a hard downforce and WOOSH!

So was it a microburst or a tornado?

We still don't have the answer to that.

Either way, it was enough wind to flip these big bad boys over.

This is a camping trip these folks will be talking about for a long time.