Devils Tower reopens

Devils Tower National Monument opened back up just a couple of days after a temporary closure caused by hail damage.

The storm on the evening of August 19 brought down numerous trees, damaged buildings, campers and vehicles and made many of the trails impassable. Significant damage was also reported at the KOA campground next to the Tower and surrounding businesses.

By August 21, all trails were back open and visitors were once again welcome to enjoy the nation's first national monument.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm was caused by a supercell that developed across northeast Wyoming and tracked directly over the Tower before heading into the plains of western South Dakota.

Devils Tower saw the largest hailstones from the storm at 2.75 inches. North of Sundance, hailstones of 1.5 inches were recorded.

Devils Tower also saw maximum wind gusts of 54 mph and 1.05 inches of rainfall from the storm. Elsewhere in the county, 1.9 inches fell in Sundance and 0.55 inches near Beulah.