The Science Behind Wyoming Snow Fences

Most folks arriving in Wyoming for the first time see our snow fences and wonder what they are. When it's explained to them, there is always a bit of time for their brains to process what the science behind a snow fence is. But then the lightbulb flickers to life above their heads.

Wyoming's highways are a battleground against Mother Nature, with blowing snow causing dangerous conditions and costing millions in maintenance. But the state has a secret weapon: hundreds of miles of precisely engineered snow fences.

In the video below, Wyoming PBS goes behind the scenes with the Wyoming Department of Transportation's Winter Research Team to uncover the science of how these simple structures work. From their deceptively precise design to their surprising second life as reclaimed furniture.

A one-dollar investment can return a thousand dollars in savings, keeping roads clear and drivers safe.

DID YOU KNOW - the wood from Wyoming snow fences comes to the state at ZERO cost to the consumer? The company that provides the wood takes it down when it has weathered and sells it. People LOVE that weather wood look.

Snow fences have ancient roots. But the state effectively invented the modern snow fence technology, mostly for our highway systems. Interstate 80 is the worst for snow drift.

Wyoming's geography and position in North America cause high winds. Those winds blow snow in massive drifts. The snow fence arrests some of that snow drifting, holding it from crossing and covering roads.

The idea is that the fence will break up the wind, causing the snow to fall right behind the fence, thus ending the drift.

Below is a snow fence video from the Wyoming Department Of Transportation.

But, as the video shows, snow fences can fill up, and once they do, they will no longer hold back drifting snow. There is a limit to them, so they must be monitored and, at times, cleared, to remain effective.

Besides the wooden snow fences, look for the "living snow fence," which is an attempt to do the same thing but with bushes and trees.

The video shows that snow fences were not just built on a theory. A lot of research and experimentation went into them.