The Associated Press | Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - Snow and strong winds are hampering travel in southern Wyoming today, while avalanche warnings have been posted for the extreme western part of the state.
Sections of Interstate 80 were closed in the Evanston, Cheyenne, Rock Springs, Laramie, Rawlins, Elk Mountain and Arlington areas because of snow and wind-driven ground blizzards.
Winds gusting up to 70 mph buffeted parts of southern Wyoming this morning.
The National Weather Service posted a blizzard warning for the Snowy Range area in southern Wyoming, including the community of Centennial.
On Monday, heavy snow and wind gusts up to 80 mph plagued the western mountains, shutting down skiing in Jackson Hole and closing highways.
Avalanche warnings were posted for the extreme western mountains, including the Jackson and Afton areas.
Wyoming Highway 22 over Teton Pass was closed most of Monday because of an avalanche that may have been triggered by a snowboarder. The slide covered the roadway with a 120-foot-long swath of debris about 6 feet deep, said Jamie Yount, the avalanche adviser for the Wyoming Department of Transportation.
The avalanche partially buried a car coming from Idaho, but no one was injured.
The wind and blowing snow also shut down Jackson Hole Airport. Planes did not take off Sunday evening or all day Monday, said Ray Bishop, the airport director.
Bishop said one American Airlines flight did land at the airport at 1 p.m. on Monday.