Hurricane-Force Winds Leave Mess for Cheyenne Residents, City

It will be a while before any formal damage estimates are available, but it is safe to say that a weekend windstorm that featured gusts of up to 90 miles per hour has left its mark on Wyoming's Capital City.

Just for comparison, the National Weather Service classifies wind speeds of 74 miles per hour as "hurricane force." Wyoming is famous for its wind, and wind speeds in the 60s and 70s are not all that unusual.

Cheyenne Is Used to Wind, But Not Like This

But while 90 miles per hour is by no means a state record--a gust of 128 miles per hour was recorded in Clark, Wyoming a couple of years ago--it certainly is not an everyday event. Especially in Cheyenne, as opposed to more wind-prone areas such as Arlington.

Those kinds of gusts are more than many structures are built to handle, even here.  Across the city damaged fences, roofs, and sheds are being reported.

Cheyenne Urban Forestry crews will be busy this week cleaning up trees blown over and damaged by the storm. While a tally of exactly how many trees were uprooted is not immediately available, it's probably a multiple of ten by any estimate.

The City of Cheyenne, in a news release, says crews were called out over 10 times during the weekend to remove trees that were blocking city streets. Over the next few days city crews will be evaluating city properties for tree damage and to identify hazardous conditions.

In the meantime, the public is being reminded not to walk around damaged trees and to observe any closures.