Déjà vu

Like an aftershock of the blizzard that hit five weeks ago, snow and wind once again rolled through Crook County last week – on the same day of the week, bringing a similar deluge of snow and strong winds to keep it moving, and lasting for a similar period of time.

This time, though, the storm was preceded by thunder, lightning and several hours of rainfall and its span covered northeast Wyoming and northwest South Dakota. Sundance and its surrounds experienced an estimated 12 inches of snow falling over a 36-hour period, while the National Weather Service reports 22.3 inches north of Hulett and towards Alzada.

Five miles north-northwest of Alva, reports put the total at 25.5 inches of snow. Throughout the storm system as a whole, Terry Peak in Lawrence County saw the most snowfall at an estimated 30 inches.

The snow was accompanied by wind gusts up to 50 mph that caused whiteout conditions and drifting snow.

But while this storm did have its aspects of déjà vu, it was also a more difficult two days for road users. Though only one was completely closed, just after midnight on April 10, WYDOT began to issue "no unnecessary travel" alerts for roads including WY450, WY116, WY585 and the interstate.

US 212 was closed the day of the storm itself due to a high volume of motorists who had become stuck on the road. WYDOT estimated that two dozen semi trucks and a dozen passenger vehicles had either jackknifed or slid off the road thanks to the low or complete lack of visibility in the snow, winds and drifts.

WYDOT maintenance staff from Hulett and Wyoming Highway Patrol did their best to aid motorists and clear the road.

Meanwhile, reports came in of a crash on I-90 at around 12:15 a.m., near Sundance at milepost 185. The left lane was blocked eastbound until the accident was cleared at around 4:45 a.m.

According to a press release from WYDOT, the crash was the fourth incident this winter in which a WYDOT snowplow has been hit by a motorist on I-90. The driver of a Ford Excursion pulling a camper trailer lost control of his vehicle when approaching a bridge deck and passing the plow.

The plow blade caught the trailer and both ended up in the median. The plow received minor damage, though the other vehicle was damaged more substantially; no injuries were reported.

The storm's similarities to its most recent predecessor did seem to help when it came to deciding whether to shelter at home or struggle onto the roads, though. Schools across the county made the decision not to open on Wednesday, as did other offices and businesses. The Forest Service office, for instance, did not open on Wednesday at all.