On December 17 and 18, the wind gusts in some areas of Wyoming were recorded blowing over 100 miles per hour. In Sheridan County, they did not get that strong, but they were in 60 mile per hour range.

Wyoming is no stranger to wind, in fact, according to several internet sites, the state with the most wind is Alaska, followed closely by Wyoming.

In this history column we will look at some winter winds, which caused damage and in one case, even a death.

This in The Sheridan Post, December 31, 1912 – Gale Breaks All Records; Reaches Maximum Of 60 Miles Per Hour; Buildings Burned Barns Destroyed — Sheridan Escapes by Merest Good Fortune — Rocks Buildings, Whirls Dust — Breaking all weather bureau records for wind velocity, a 60-mile gale early yesterday morning kept city and county on the qui vive for four hours and wreaked havoc throughout the Sheridan country. Among the losses reported as a result of the gale are the following:

Wallop ranch, Big Horn, ice house, laundry and hay stacks destroyed by fire. Estimated loss, $3,000.

William Moncreiffe ranch. Big Horn—Four hay stacks burned, loss several hundred dollars.

Burgess lumber sheds at Big Horn blown down; other small buildings blown down or un-roofed. Fences blown over.

Tom Masters ranch, Tongue River, barn wrecked by wind; frame structure, total loss.

Pass creek ranchers are reported to have suffered heavily, many out buildings and haystacks being blown over. A barn on the E.N. Secore ranch, Big Goose, in reported to have been wrecked by the wind.

At the Wallop ranch the fact that the wind was from the south was all that saved the residence from destruction. The big barn was saved only through the heroic work of neighbors. The entire countryside turned out to assist in subduing the flames. In one instance, burning brands were carried a distance of a mile across the fields to the William Moncreiffe ranch, setting fire to hay stacks. The fire is supposed to have originated in the Wallop laundry, although flames were observed in the laundry building and a nearby haystack almost simultaneously. A corner of the barn caught fire and the big building would have gone with other structures but for the promptness with which neighbors hastened to the rescue.

The wind swept down Little Goose Canyon and out across the flats with terrific velocity. Malcolm Moncreiffe, who was in the city yesterday, declares that while at its maximum the gale must have blown at fully 75 miles an hour.

Weather Observer Prise is authority for the statement that the maximum reached in Sheridan was 60 miles an hour, and that only for two or three-minute periods. The greatest sustained velocity, for a five minute or longer period, was recorded at 2:45, when the wind attained a maximum of 56 miles per hour for four and a half hours, from then until after 6 o’clock, the gale averaged from 46 to 56 miles per hour, according to weather bureau records. At 6 o’clock it was blowing 50 miles and while calming down after daylight continued all day with more or less severity. While the storm was at its height clouds of dust filled the air, entering upon windows and doors and leaving a trail of work and profanity in its wake.

Residents of the city immediately expected to hear the fire alarm, but fortunately for residence and business district not a fire was reported. Mayor Kutcher was one of those who lay awake waiting for the gong.

Many chimneys belched red, and the fact that the conflagration did not ensue is due to the merest luck. A small blaze on Fifth street was caught before it spread.

Shortly after 2 o’clock all the lights in the city went out and remained off for more that an hour. Trouble at the Tongue River plant is given as the cause. According to the wind gauge at the weather bureau the gale blew from the west and northwest until daylight when it veered around to the northwest, it reached its maximum while blowing directly from the west. Building were rocked on their foundations and in some cases were vacated by their occupants for fear of collapse. A 64-mile an hour gale was recorded in May of 1919. In January and November of 1811, tbe wind attained a velocity of 50 miles an hour. in December 1907, a 60 miles per hour wind blew in.

As we saw in the above story, during times of high winds, power is often disrupted. In the recent December windstorm, many residents in the Sheridan, Johnson and Campbell County areas were without power for a time. Anything with high lines, such electricity can be affected by the winds.

This from the Laramie Daily Boomerang, Monday, March 22,1920 – High Winds Cause Delay In Telegraph Service – Crossed wires between here and Cheyenne resulted in some inconvenience today and the telephone and telegraph service of both cities have suffered from delay. Crews of men have been working along the line repairing the damage and by late in the afternoon the service was again working on schedule. High winds caused considerable trouble along the line though no great damage to property has been reported.

Although today, most land line telephone lines are underground, and unless a tower blows down cell phone is little affected, but loss of power can create problems with the home internet and wi-fi, as the modems are powered by electricity.

This past year, there have been many instances of semi trucks being blown over the winds. There are numerous postings on Wyoming Department of Transportation website about the interstates being closed for high profile vehicles under 20000 pounds due to the blow over risk. Even train cars can be at risk, and create a risk.

This from The Sheridan Daily Enterprise, January 9, 1911 –Cheyenne, Wyo., Jan. 9. — Much damage and many accidents have resulted today from one of the worst windstorms that has ever blown over the city. George Garner, foreman of the water service of the Colorado and Southern Railroad, was struck by a boxcar which had blown loose from its moorings and had his arm crushed to a pulp. Harry Long, a Union Pacific switch man, was thrown from the top of a boxcar when the roof was blown off, and his leg fractured.

Judge Clark was literally blown over on the pavement and sustained a broken nose. A number of wagons were blown over in the streets and two drivers were injured. No less than a dozen residences have been removed from their foundations and several glasses blown in F. J. Kihm, manager of a restaurant, lost a considerable sum of money in bills which were whisked from a bank book he was carrying on the way to make a deposit. Telephone wires are down and the service badly damaged.

When most people, especially rural folks, had fireplaces and wood and coal stoves, brick chimneys were often vulnerable in a windstorm.

The Laramie Republican, January 10, 1916 – Chimney Blown Over in a Windstorm – O. Herrlck of Mandel, the ranch man and chairman of the board of county commissioners, arrived from the ranch yesterday afternoon and is spending a few days with his family here. A severe wind storm raged in the Little Laramle valley Saturday, a chimney at the Herrick home having been blown over. There wasn’t a fire in the fireplace at the time and no further damage was done to the building. Mr. Herrlck knew of no other damage in that neighborhood from the wind.

Even deaths can be attributed to the winds.

The Casper Daily Tribune, February 17, 1921 – Rancher Killed When Hay Wagon is Blown Over in Heavy gale.

Laramie, Wyoming – Feb. 11 – Charles Weisbach, a ranch worker, was instantly killed Wednesday when a load of hay which he was bringing to town was overturned by high wind on Twelve-mile hill, west of Laramie. He was crusted beneath the overturned hay rack and load.

For those folks who work outside, windchill can be dangerous as well, so it pays to bundle up with working in the winter winds.

So, for those of us living in Wyoming, wind is a part of life. We just hope that it doesn’t last for to long.