The Powell area was hit with a blast of arctic air early Wednesday morning, plummeting temperatures to the negative teens with wind chills below minus 40 degrees and leading to school and road closures.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol closed U.S. Highway 14A between Cody and Powell just before 7 a.m. due to whiteout conditions, closing the stretch from Powell to Lovell soon after. The stretch opened just before 1 p.m. The Park County Sheriff’s Office advised no unnecessary travel on any roads in the county, with scanner chatter indicating that authorities were dealing with multiple stuck vehicles.

“At this time, please stay home if you can,” the sheriff’s office wrote in an early morning Facebook post. “We can’t see to respond to help you.”

Later in the morning, the Wyoming Department of Transportation also closed Wyo. Highway 114 between Powell and Deaver and Wyo. Highway 310 from Frannie to Greybull. U.S. Highway 14/16/20E between Greybull and Cody also closed for much of the day.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office advised in the morning that all
drivers in the county should avoid driving unless absolutely necessary, and that plow crews were struggling to see enough to plow the roads. 

Christy Fleming, chief of interpretation at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area made it from Powell to the visitor center in Lovell just before authorities closed U.S. Highway 14A.

“It was the worst driving conditions I think I have ever been in,” she said shortly after making the drive.

According to the National Weather Service, an arctic front moving south is to blame for the frigid temperatures and blizzard conditions.

Winds were expected to increase throughout the day Wednesday with the possibility of 40-50 mph gusts. By Wednesday night dangerously cold temperatures were forecast to settle into the region, with lows well below zero, according to the NWS Riverton office.

Around Powell, temperatures were forecast to dip to 20 below zero on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. 

“These are dangerous conditions - frostbite is possible within minutes,” the National Weather Service noted when reporting the extreme drop in temperature across the state. 

Park County School District 1 canceled school for the day at 7 a.m. The school district had previously notified parents that school would at least have a delayed start and had warned of a possible cancellation amid the potential of “brutally unsafe conditions.”

At Powell High School, semester finals which are normally split into two days were all moved to Tuesday. The change was announced shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, with teachers asked to alter tests as necessary and give students grace when grading tests.

Meanwhile, Park County School District 6 in Cody initially attempted to carry on with the school day as usual. 

“Our transportation department is prepared to transport our students on a warm bus to and from school,” PCSD 6 Superintendent Vernon Orndorff wrote on Tuesday.

However, at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, after buses had already picked up some students, the Cody district announced it was canceling school “due to the weather and unsafe driving conditions.” For those students who’d already been bused to school, Orndorff said the district would be working with families “to return students safely home.” He apologized for the late notice.