US meteorologists trapped in office for five days due to record snowfall

Six meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne, Wyoming in the United States were trapped in the office for five days. They were forced to stay in office as the roads and vehicles were buried beneath the snow due to the winter storm over the weekend. The weekend storm dumped over 30 inches of snow on Cheyenne.

Meteorologists were stuck in office 

It was the city’s worst blizzard since at least 1979. Mathew Brothers, a meteorologist at the Cheyenne office was trapped since the weekend told The Washington Post via phone on Wednesday that they had been in the office since Saturday morning. He added that they were packing up as the road had been cleared on the night of March 17. 

The meteorologists who had been trapped in the office due to snow had been working for 12-hour shifts round the clock. Mathew Brothers said that they had been prepared for at least two to three days. He added that they had a lot of food in the office. He said that they had an extra pair of clothes but they were not able to take shower for five days. He told The Washington Post that they were eager to take some time off as they worked continuously for five days. The operations will now be handled by backup offices in Riverton, Wuo and Rapid City, S.D. The Cheyenne office will resume normal operations once the snow melts and the roads are cleared. 

Meanwhile, the weekend storm dumped over 30 inches of snow on Cheyenne and many side streets will remain impassable for cars for several more days, city officials have warned. Firefighters used an enclosed snow machine called a snowcat to get doctors to an operating room for a patient’s emergency surgery. Highway crews resorted to using bulldozers to move snow off interstates, including I-80 between Cheyenne and Laramie.

(Image and Inputs from The Associated Press)