Why I lack faith in weather reports

[Margarita]

Heavy snow
Today
27° 14°
Morning snow showers. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid teens.

Humidity: 83%
Cloud Coverage: 66%
Wind: WSW at 9 mph
Chance of Snow: 0%
UV Index: 1 Low
Sunrise: 07:28:09 AM
Sunset: 05:06:15 PM

[Ol Mike]

In Washington State The local weatherman once predicted "The overcast will be lighter today".

[Fe Butte]

I plan around the reports and then adjust when I am in it in the world.

Did I mention we had to route up to Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons to get to Thermopolis this trip out? Because South Pass was closed to traffic, only 150 miles extra, but at 30 - 50 MPH we got into Thermopolis around 9 PM, not our usual 3 PM.

Oh well that is how it goes.

Just thinking if the Wind River Canyon is closed off, (again) it will be quite the chore to get around. Uff Da

[Margarita]

If the canyon is closed off, you may as well wait it out. By the time you reroute, the canyon will be open again.

[Fe Butte]

Originally Posted by Margarita

If the canyon is closed off, you may as well wait it out. By the time you reroute, the canyon will be open again.

What year was it that they had the mud slides? I don't know how long it was closed then, but I saw the afterwards on one ride to Sturgis. You can still see where some of the slides happened on the other side where the railroad tracks are.

[Margarita]

I think the one that produced the giant boulder to block the road was the spring of 2019. Last spring there was another good-sized one. A bunch of kids from Powell High School's soccer team climbed out of their bus and cleared enough of the road for traffic to filter though. There were, of course, detractors, chanting "they should've stayed in the bus; what if they'd gotten hurt doing that," but it's Wyoming. I've helped clear a couple of backroad slides myself.

This year has been snowy and I suspect there will be more slides than usual this spring. The only way around the canyon is through Lander and Muddy Gap to the south or over the Big Horns from Worland to Buffalo to the north. Neither is ideal in the winter. That being said... I love Wind River Canyon. The first time I rode through it on a bike was the fulfilment of a dream.

[Fe Butte]

The May 2015 mud slides.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EDDMS19Zko

[Margarita]

Oh, yeah, I'd about forgotten that year. Half the canyon slid and WYDOT left slide warnings on their map for all year. Heck, the warnings may be permanent. (Goes over to check.) Yep. Says "Watch for falling rock. Slick in spots." I don't suppose I've ever been through the canyon when there weren't at least some small rocks on the roadway or at least the shoulder, but I've managed to miss getting swept away myself. (**** I just wrote that outloud, didn't I? And me driving through the canyon at least a dozen times a year, coming and going. Nuts.)