An uncommon and highly effective late season winter storm is hitting Wyoming this Monday morning, with the National Weather Service Office in Cheyenne issuing one Snow storm warning and a number of Winter Storm Warnings throughout a lot of the state starting at 8:40 a.m. MDT, Might 18, 2026.
The system has caught motorists and commuters off guard at a time of 12 months when timber have already fallen throughout the area – making the heavy, moist snow significantly harmful.
The NWS Cheyenne workplace clearly acknowledged in its Blizzard Warning bulletin: “Journey must be restricted to emergencies. For those who should journey, be sure you have a winter survival package. If you’re stranded, keep together with your automobile.”
Snowstorms are presently occurring Interstate 80 within the foothills of the North Snowy Varytogether with the communities of Arlington and Elk Mountain, the place wind gusts reached 50 miles per hour Visibility could drop to lower than 1 / 4 mile by falling and blowing snow.
A multi-zone warning spanning Wyoming’s mountain corridors
The attain of the storm is giant. Throughout the Snowy Vary and North Laramie Vary – together with Centennial and Albany – the NWS predicts 10 to twenty inches of whole snow accumulationwith gusts of 20 to 40 mph and vital blowing and drifting above 8,500 toes. The South Laramie Vary, which spans the important areas I-80 summit between Cheyenne and LaramieThere’s a warning for 7 to 14 inches and wind gusts as much as 25 mph.
In Central Carbon County, together with Rawlins5 to 10 inches are anticipated with wind gusts as much as 30 miles per hour and visibility might probably fall beneath 1 / 4 mile. The Sierra Madre Vary faces 8 to 16 inches targeting the japanese slopes, with 50 mph wind gusts that would trigger tree injury. Casper Berg 6 to 12 inches are warned, and the NWS particularly notes that heavy snow can break tree branches as many timber have already leafed out – an uncommon hazard distinctive to late spring storms. Town of Kasper himself is predicted to obtain 3 to six inches, with as much as 8 inches doable between Hiland and the town’s south facet.
The storm is spreading into Colorado
The system doesn’t finish on the Wyoming border. NWS Denver has issued a winter storm warning for Rocky Mountain Nationwide Park and the Drugs Bow Vary in Colorado, legitimate till 9 p.m. MDT, with anticipated snow accumulations of 8 to 18 inches on east-facing slopes – threatening journey on mountain passes and impacting the Monday night commute. Traffic conditions in Colorado and Wyoming might be checked on wyoroad.info or by calling 511.
The occasion is a vivid reminder of what meteorologists know effectively: within the central Rocky Mountain hall, winter would not maintain to the calendar. Might storms of this magnitude, whereas unusual at decrease elevations, should not unprecedented within the excessive nation. What makes the present system exceptional is its dimension: simultaneous blizzards and winter storms in six completely different mountain areas in Wyoming, all lively on the identical Monday morning.