WILSON, Wyo. — A powerful thunderstorm swept through the area on Monday night, with neighborhoods in Wilson taking heavy hits.
Buckrail‘s meteorologist Alan Smith commented on Monday night’s storm events:
Moisture associated with the North American Monsoon steadily increased across the Great Basin, Eastern Idaho, and Western Wyoming from Sunday evening through Monday evening. This uptick in moisture primed the atmosphere for stronger thunderstorms to develop across the region.
Varying levels of mid to high level clouds limited solar heating and suppressed thunderstorm development around Jackson Hole for most of the day on Monday. However, a strong disturbance in the upper atmosphere known as a shortwave approached from the southwest and reached Southern Idaho/Northern Utah by late Monday afternoon where the atmosphere was also more unstable. This shortwave acted as a lifting mechanism for a large cluster of thunderstorms to develop.
As the cluster of storms moved from southwest to northeast toward Jackson Hole, it continued to intensify, moving across Teton County between 10-11pm and producing damaging straight-line winds. A 61 mph wind gust was recorded at the Jackson Hole Airport, which officially classified the storm as a severe thunderstorm per National Weather Service criteria. There is a lack of wind data in the Wilson-West Bank area where damage was most widespread, but based on damage reports, it’s possible that peak wind gusts were even stronger there.
A page-out for emergency services was issued Monday night at 10:15 p.m. reporting a blown transformer and a tree on fire near Owen Bircher Park. An additional page-out at 10:28 p.m. requested volunteer firefighters to man stations in Jackson and Moose-Wilson Road due to “extreme weather.”
At 10:30 p.m., a page-out reported a downed power line on top of a vehicle on S. Willow St. in Jackson. Five minutes later, a request was issued for volunteer firefighters to man stations in Jackson and Hoback Junction.
Early Tuesday morning, a small fire from an electrical box was reported on Wilson’s N. Wenzel Lane.
Downtown Jackson was also subject to fallen trees. A photo on Persephone Bakery’s Instagram page shows damage to its front porch from what appears to be a lightning-stricken tree.
Lower Valley Energy trucks were spotted around Wilson on Tuesday morning.
This is a developing story. Buckrail will update this story as more information becomes available.
