Interstate 80 Travel Could Be Hazardous Tuesday Night

Anyone planning to travel on Interstate 80 between Cheyenne and Rawlins late Tuesday or Wednesday may want to check travel conditions before hitting the road.

The Cheyenne office of the National Weather Service says a spring storm could make travel along the interstate dicey. The office has issued the following weather statement:

"A storm system will track to the south of the area on Tuesday. There is the potential for accumulating snow across portions of southeast Wyoming. The greatest uncertainty on precipitation type and resulting impacts are for elevations 6000-7500 feet.

Precipitation Type/Amounts: Low confidence. This system is not overly cold, thus not all of southeast Wyoming will see accumulating snow. The best chance of accumulating snow will be along and west of the Laramie Range, or at elevations above 6000 feet. The most significant accumulations will likely be across the western mountains, Arlington area, and higher terrain of the Laramie Range. See the image below for forecasted snow amounts. Winds: North to northeasterly winds will strengthen on Tuesday afternoon/evening from Laramie to Rawlins with gusts to 30-40 mph. Northerly winds will gust to 20-30 mph elsewhere through Tuesday night.Timing:
Elevations Above 8000 feet: Snow from Tuesday morning through the evening.
Elevations 7000-8000 feet: Rain/Snow Mix on Tuesday morning through afternoon, then changing to all snow during the evening
Elevations 5500-7000 feet: Mostly rain through Tuesday afternoon, then becoming snow or rain/snow mix during the evening.
Elevations Below 5500 feet: Mostly rain.
Impacts: There will likely be travel impacts along Interstate 80 from Cheyenne to Rawlins, especially over the Interstate 80 Summit and Arlington area."

Cheyenne-based Meteorologist Don Day Jr. says that while a storm that hit southeast Wyoming late last week dumped little precipitation on the area, he thinks there is a much better chance of significant rain/snow from this week's storm.

Categories: Cheyenne News, Wyoming News