Tim Holt's popular westerns at RKO tended toward light-hearted sagebrush justice, with the always-cheerful Tim often overcoming the villain with clever tricks instead of gunfire. Storm Over Wyoming, the third of six Holt westerns released in 1950, begins with a scene of vigilante violence and maintains a high action pitch throughout its short running time. Although given eleventh billing in this installment, Richard Martin continues to serve as Tim's partner Chito Rafferty, using the same non-PC faux-Mexican accent. Chito and Holt's Dave Saunders break up a lynching and inject themselves between sheepmen and cowboys engaged in a bitter range war. Dave befriends Chris Marvin (Noreen Nash), a pretty ranch owner, while the ladies' man Chito enlists dance hall girl Betty Underwood in their peacemaking cause. Chris's foreman Rawlins (Bill Kennedy) proves to be the chief baddie, stirring up trouble and profit by rustling her livestock on the side. The trade papers were enthusiastic about Storm over Wyoming even though a new Tim Holt feature arrived in theaters every eight weeks or so. The Hollywood Reporter said that Holt and the cast "perform as if there had never been a movie like this before," which is high praise for a genre not known for originality. Holt and Martin are described as 'Damon and Pythias' heroes, considering how frequently they take turns rescuing one another. Variety noted that the action altered the Holt formula by reducing the number of fistfights in favor of gunplay, making the film seem like one long battle. As always, the critics were impressed with the quality camerawork of RKO's J. Roy Hunt, in this case featuring snow-capped mountains in the San Bernardino National Forest.

By Glenn Erickson