LARGE FALLS – The strong winds that shook most of Montana on Wednesday caused widespread damage – knocking over trucks, knocking down trees, breaking roofs and more. The National Weather Service at Great Falls said, “This is an extreme wind event even for this area.”
The NWS said that three locations set new wind speed records in January: Great Falls, 76 mph; Helena, 74 mph; Havre, 72 mph. Stronger gusts have been recorded in other areas, mainly along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain Front.
Highway 87 was closed for several hours between Great Falls and Fort Benton. The strong winds raised dust and dirt, causing little visibility along the road. There were gusts of over 70 miles per hour across the region. Highway 89 from Great Falls to Belt was also closed briefly.
Great Falls Fire Rescue says a second alarm was triggered in the city to bring in more firefighters to deal with emergencies caused by strong winds. There have been several wind-blown grass fires in the area and power outages spread in and around Great Falls.
NWS meteorologist Christian Cassell shared this video of an empty 5,000 gallon fuel tank blowing on Interstate 15:
There were also several trucks downed along I-15 near Shelby.
Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue posted: “Lines and trees have fallen everywhere. Be careful and don’t approach any lines. It will pass through ice and snow and can be deadly. Protect anything that might explode. Roofs are being exploded in some areas.”
The National Weather Service in Missoula reported that a 200 km / h gust was recorded on the west face of Mount Sentinel. Missoula Electric Cooperative says more than 4,300 members were in the dark at 11:15 am on Wednesday. Major interruptions have been reported in the Bonner, Frenchtown and Tarkio areas. In addition, several outages have been reported in the Condon and Seeley Lake areas.
Flathead Electric Cooperative says the number of customers without power was more than 13,000. The biggest disruptions have been reported in the West Glacier, Whitefish Lake and Libby areas – as well as in the Kalispell areas.