Although that may look like a river, it's not. At least normally.
Ranchers north of Laramie, Wyoming, captured the full force of a flash flood Sunday afternoon as wet weather continued to have its lock on the Cowboy State.
Cindy Woods, who owns the Cross C Ranch north of Laramie and east of Rock River, told Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day that the flash flood happened quickly with “tremendous force.”
“It was at least 5-6 feet deep and as wide as the yard,” Woods told Day.
A video shared by Woods shows a horse trailer being swept away by the waters in front of her house.
The makeshift river in the video is normally not there. That’s Cindy and her husband's yard.
“The water come down a draw after a huge rain with sleet,”” she said. “People, animals and vehicles are all OK [but] as you can see in this video, trailers didn’t fair well!”
Woods said their main rain gauge floated away, but another gauge collected 3.5 inches of rainfall.
“Whatever happened above us was even more significant than the rain,” she said. “Our respect for Mother Nature holds firm.”
Woods said her waterfall, three ponds, heavy swing and lots of lawn paraphernalia were all swept away.
Meteorologist Don Day said videos like this are helpful because it reminds people how powerful storms can be.
"Flash floods are dangerous and we all know that. But sometimes we need to see the video to be reminded," Day said.
"This is why you want to heed those warnings," he said.
Jimmy Orr can be reached at jimmy@cowboystatedaily.com.
