Hailstorm Damages Hundreds of Homes in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming; National Guard Called Out

Chris Dolce
Published: July 29,2016
Large hail driven by strong winds damaged virtually every home in a Wyoming town Wednesday evening, prompting help from the Wyoming National Guard.
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported around 500 homes were damaged in the town of Pine Bluffs, about 40 miles east of Cheyenne near the Nebraska state line.
"It looks like the storm was a direct hit on every structure in town," Director of Wyoming Homeland Security Guy Cameron told The Wyoming Tribune Eagle Thursday. "There is virtually visible damage everywhere."

Members of Cheyenne Urban Forestry work on disposing one of seven pine trees Thursday afternoon, July 28, 2016, at the city park in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming.
(Blaine McCartney/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

Thursday, Governor Matt Mead ordered 27 members of the Wyoming National Guard to assist with cleanup in the town of about 1,200 residents. This included clearing of trees and boarding shattered windows.
The Pine Bluffs hailstorm was from one of a pair of supercell thunderstorms that pelted parts of southeast Wyoming, western Nebraska and northeast Colorado with wind-driven, large hail that damaged homes, businesses and vehicles Wednesday.
(MORE: Hail is an Underrated Danger)
The hail was first reported near Cheyenne, Wyoming, where it reportedly accumulated up to six inches deep 20 miles east of town. Photos taken along Interstate 80 near the Wyoming-Nebraska state line showed hail covering the ground and fog developing in the aftermath near the town of Pine Bluffs.

Hail and fog on Interstate 80 in southeast Wyoming near Pine Bluff on Wednesday.
(Melanie Walker)

Wyoming DOT cameras captured what almost looked like a winter wonderland surrounding Interstate 80 near Pine Bluffs. Traffic was moving slowly around 6:30 p.m. local time due to the significant amounts of hail that piled up.

Wind-driven hail to the size of golfballs later arrived in Pine Bluffs. Not only were buildings damaged, but windshields on many vehicles were smashed, including those traveling on Interstate 80.

A windshield destroyed by large hail near Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, on Wednesday.
(Melanie Walker)

A windshield destroyed by large hail near Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, on Wednesday.
(Melanie Walker)

The same storm also produced wind-driven hail near the southwest Nebraska town of Bushnell where a home suffered damage.
Hailstones to the size of tennis balls were reported from the second supercell that moved through northeast Colorado. That storm produced vehicle damage near the town of Kersey.

Hail damages a car near Kersey, Colorado.
(Max Olson/LSM)

(MORE: Destructive Hail in Plains in Early July)

Recap of the Damaging Hail Storms

The radar and hail reports animation below shows how the damaging storms evolved late on Wednesday.
After the storms first started producing hail near Cheyenne, Wyoming, they split, with one supercell pushing through southeast Wyoming and southwest Nebraska. A second supercell thunderstorm moved southeastward through northeast Colorado.

Radar and hail reports Wednesday evening in northeast Colorado, southeast Wyoming and southwest Nebraska.

Hail in the Plains is common during the spring and summer months.
The areas affected by the large hail Wednesday typically see five or more severe hail reports annually based on the 2003-2012 average. Severe hail is classified as 1-inch diameter or larger.

Severe hail refers to 1-inch diameter or greater hail. Areas in dark purple see the most days per year of large hail.

MORE: Layers Inside Hailstones

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