February 14, 2023 |
If you think this winter has been brutal, wait until you watch the Wyoming PBS documentary, “The Blizzard of ‘49.”
January 2nd 1949 began as a typical winter Sunday. Wyoming weather forecasters predicted highs in the 30s and called for light snow flurries in the mountains. An unforeseen arctic cold front combined with wet southern air creating a once in a generation winter catastrophe. Heavy snowfall was whipped into 20-foot drifts by 80 mph gusts leaving thousands stranded all across Colorado, Nebraska, and southeastern Wyoming. Over 3,300 miles of Wyoming highways were closed by the blizzard.
Sinclair’s Community Events Director Monte Thayer manages the historic Parco/Sinclair Theater. He said he wanted to show the Wyoming PBS documentary in the hopes that it puts this year’s weather into perspective.
Wyomingites are known for being tough. The blizzard of 1949 put our resolve to the test. Carbon County Museum Director Tom Mensik said the primitive equipment available 74 years ago wasn’t capable of combating the snow.
The snowpack made it impossible for trucks and trains to reach cities and towns. Food stores began to run low, causing some saloons to stop selling take-out liquor to ensure shots were available for bar-goers.
Ranchers were hit hardest. The high drifts isolated remote homesteads and killed livestock. Mensik said the blizzard caused widespread death among the herds.
When the winds finally died down, 55,000 head of cattle and 150,000 sheep were lost. One thousand Wyoming ranches received financial assistance from the government to recoup the loss of so much livestock.
The storm mainly affected the northern part of the county. Grand Encampment Museum Director Tim Nicklas said two Encampment women needed to be transported to the hospital in Rawlins via Army M-29 cargo carriers, known as “weasels.”
On January 29th, President Harry Truman declared the area a major disaster and created Operation Snowbound. Army Corps of Engineer Major General Lewis Pick was tasked with digging out 193,000 square miles of the west. Pick said it was the greatest bulldozer operation ever organized.
When everything was said and done, 17 Wyoming residents perished in the snow. Some were trapped in their vehicles after waiting for the squall to pass. Others succumbed to the cold while seeking shelter. The blizzard ended up costing the state $9 million, the equivalent of $90 million in today’s dollars.
People who lived through the storm said the blizzard of 1949 was truly a once in a century event.
Carbon County residents are invited to the Parco/Sinclair Theater next Tuesday to watch the hour-long documentary. Presented by Wyoming PBS, Monte Thayer described when the showing of “The Blizzard of ‘49” will be.
Despite the deadly conditions, the snow had a silver lining, of sorts. Snowmelt contributed to a very productive spring growing season.
