December 13, 2021 |
Interstate 80 between Rawlins and Laramie has been open for more than 24 hours straight after being closed for much of the weekend.
The heavily traveled trucking corridor opened briefly Friday night, but closed a short time later because of winter conditions, slick road surfaces and related crashes. The same thing happened Sunday morning. The interstate opened around 8:30, but the gates were swung closed less than a hour later. It reopened later Sunday morning and has been open ever since.
On Saturday, while social media posters blamed truck drivers, out of state travelers and even Wyoming’s relatively low taxes for the lengthy closure, the real reason was Mother Nature. The winds were hurricane force at times. The National Weather Service in Cheyenne reported a peak wind gust of 92 miles per hour was recorded near Arlington on Saturday. Just for reference, wind speeds of 74 miles per hour are generally considered to be hurricane-force winds.
Wind gusts of 66, 70, 73 and 75 were recorded throughout the afternoon here in Carbon County. Wind speeds averaged 50 miles an hour for much of the day on Saturday. A high wind advisory is in effect for Monday, as well.
