One hail of a night

Tuesday started off as a very slow day until it wasn’t. I was on my way back from Wheatland Tuesday afternoon when a severe thunderstorm rolled through town. Luckily, I was miles north on Interstate 25 when a hail storm pounded much of the central part of the city, leaving cars across the city dimpled with hail dents. When I drove past the Wyoming State Capitol, it became apparent this wasn’t a typical hail storm. There was a ton of hail. I swung by the office then headed back out to look for storm aftermath shots. I parked near Pando Park and shot a few kids playing in the park that was submerged in about 40 inches of water. A parent mentioned Pershing Avenue got pounded by the hail. I jumped in my truck and drove over to Pershing. A few blocks down the street, I noticed some extreme fog in a cemetery and doubled back to shoot a ghostly shot of the fog rising amongst the tombstones. At this point, I had to put my truck into four wheel drive to make it down the streets. A police car caught my eye as I headed south. One of the intersections – 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue – was completely submerged and covered in hail. I noticed a lot of people gathered at the intersection as some residents tried to clear drains. I ended up shooting most of my take at that intersection. I’ve been in Cheyenne for seven months now, and this is by far the craziest story I’ve covered. I have never seen hail like this before, especially with such a large accumulation. It reminds me of a scene from “The Day After Tomorrow.”

Dave Hefenieder, a Cheyenne employee, uses a pitch fork to unclog a storm drain at the intersection of 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne. Cheyenne received 1.46 inches of rain between 5:15 and 5:50 p.m., according to the National Weather Service along with hail up to golf ball size.

Cheyenne police officer Joel Hickerson, left, and Christine Escobar shove debris out of a storm drain on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at the intersection of 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue in Cheyenne. Escobar, who lives one house from the intersection on 23rd Street, said she was able to save a few things in her basement before a "waterfall" flooded her home. Several residents, police officers and city employees armed with shovels, pitch forks, brooms and military entrenching tools quickly cleared debris from the intersection's drains to allow flood waters to subside until a city snow plow and two front loaders arrived to clear the intersection.

Tree leaves and pieces of hail cover a sidewalk on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, near Pando Park in Cheyenne.

Cullen Gienapp, 8, center, reacts as he tosses a piece of hail over his head into the flood waters on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at Pando Park in Cheyenne. He, along with his siblings Abigail, 12, and Ella, 8, tossed hail into the water with other youngsters at the park after a severe thunderstorm swept across the area.

A city crew make their way along Bradley Avenue at the intersection with 23rd Street on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne. The crew used the snow plow's blade to unclog storm drains to allow flood waters to subside at the intersection.

Brianna Portes, 3, points at a front loader as it unclogs the intersection of Bradley Avenue and 23rd Street as she stands with her babysitter, Brad Eddy, and his son, Otto Eddy, 3, on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne.

Ella Giennapp, 8, winds up to throw a piece of hail into a pond that formed at Pando Park on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne. Several youngsters trekked to the park to try throwing hail into the water.

Golf-ball-sized hail fell across Cheyenne on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, doing serious damage to cars, homes and trees.

Benjamin Sweeney uses a tape measure to get the depth of the water in Pando Park on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne. His tape measure hit the bottom at 41 inches.

Cheyenne police officer Joel Hickerson reaches down to clear debris out of a storm drain on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at the intersection of 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue in Cheyenne. Several residents, police officers and city employees armed with shovels, pitch forks, brooms and military entrenching tools quickly cleared debris from the intersection's drains to allow flood waters to subside until a city snow plow and two front loaders arrived to clear the intersection.

A city employee uses a front loader to clear hail, water and debris from a thunderstorm at the intersection of 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne.

Fog rises off of a river of hail as police block Bradley Avenue at the intersection of 22nd Street on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne.

Residents use a shovel to dig a vehicle out of a mound of hail on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, along 23rd Street near the intersection with Bradley Avenue in Cheyenne.

Partially melted hail is seen on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne. Hail up to golf ball sized dropped across Cheyenne, damaging cars, homes and trees.

A man navigates hail-filled waters at the intersection of 23rd Street and Bradley Avenue on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, in Cheyenne.

Fog rises from the ground after a thunderstorm dumped hail on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.

Comments

Denice Olson says

July 13, 2011 at 9:55 pm

great photos!
Georgia Brosher says

July 14, 2011 at 5:39 am

James, as always these are some awesome photos. Glad your truck was in Wheatland.
Kevin Leedom says

July 14, 2011 at 9:13 pm

Those are great pictures, looks like Cheyenne really got hammered!!!

We don’t do any work in Wyoming, but storm damage is one of the things that we specialize in, especially hail damage this time of year.

Cheyenne will be overwhelmed with the “Storm Troopers” who will knock on doors and become very aggressive when presenting “Blank” contracts for hail damage property restoration.

PLEASE pass the word to everyone you know…. DO NOT SIGN CONTRACTS WITH OUT OF TOWN ROOFING CONTRACTORS!!! (I cant stress that enough) You’re going to get contractors from Denver, Colorado in general, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, etc. Basically they will come in droves and hit Cheyenne with a vengeance.

Again, PLEASE tell everyone you know: Hire Local Contractors Only. Meaning Cheyenne based businesses.

We run into this every year when the storms blow through town and the homeowners will get scammed by the out-of-towners!!!

Hope this helps!!

Sincerely,
Kevin A. Leedom
Principal
Regal Restoration & Remodeling
http://www.regalrestorationdenver.com
https://www.facebook.com/RegalRestorationDenver

(720) 939-2858
Ryan Dorgan says

July 15, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Mother Nature is quite the joker. Great stuff, James.
Jon McMillan says

July 15, 2011 at 3:47 pm

Nice to see citizens out helping. A good indication that the pics were from Wyo.
Carol Bratcher says

July 16, 2011 at 12:34 pm

Lived in Chey for 40yrs and never did we have a storm like that one. We did have hail storms but not that bad. We now live in Missouri, deal with different types of storms.
Chuck Potter says

July 18, 2011 at 7:30 pm

Both of the granddaughter’s cas were totaled, but Pat didn’t get anything at his place. That’s the worst I’ve seen in Cheyenne.
Chassity Caldwell says

August 11, 2011 at 11:45 am

James, these pictures are great! I especially like the seventh one with the kids and the last one. Good to see you are doing so well since high school. I knew you would go far!

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