Power Outage in Circle, MT

Several power line poles (both from the local electric cooperative and the Department of Energy, which were replaced in recent years) were snapped at their bases in this area. A nearby home weather station recorded a 79 mph thunderstorm wind gust.

Trained spotter estimated a thunderstorm wind gust up to 65 mph, which resulted in a power outage.

Public reported wind gusts up to 60 mph with many power poles blown over in the surrounding areas.

A NWS employee reported 60 mph wind gusts, a few large downed tree branches and a power outage.

Follow-up information: DOE/WAPA had 14 H-structure power poles snapped or blown over along MT highway 13. These power poles were less than 1 year old. The rural utility company had 50 single-line poles snapped or blown over along MT highway 13. Three to five miles west of that location, another 25 power poles were snapped or blown over.

Blizzard conditions were reported as gusts were observed up to 46 mph. Near Brockway, visibility never got above a quarter of a mile with drifts of 10 feet. The county opened up a Red Cross shelter as people had been stuck on county roadways. Power poles were also damaged. Dollar amounts are estimated from actual losses, not to replace them.

A small bow echo downed eight power poles along Highway 200 and damaged a few shed roofs. The power was not restored until August 1st.

A wildfire started 14 miles north-northwest of Vida and grew to 3500 acres before being extinguished approximately 15 miles northeast of Vida. Two separate property owners suffered minor burns while attempting to control the fire and a total of ten outbuildings were lost. Fencing and power poles were also damaged.

Damaging downburst winds blew down 25 steel electric towers as well as 25 wooden power poles. It also caused 100 percent crop damage over a 20 mile long area starting from 10 miles north and northwest of Circle, then southeast along Highway 200 to the Dawson County line. The crop damage ranged from 1 to 5 miles wide. Several farms had significant damage to buildings and property. The town of Circle had the grain elevators crushed in, with significant wind damage to other portions of the elevator buildings. Metal sheeting from the grain elevators was found downstream nearly a mile away. Many houses and vehicles had windows broken or shattered, and large trees were uprooted. The Circle Airport had a measured wind gust of 113 mph.

Severe thunderstorm winds took down eight power lines in Circle leaving 100 customers without power. Strong winds also took the top off of on of the local grain bins.

An early season winter storm affected a portion of northeast Montana from late in the afternoon of October 4th through early afternoon on the 5th. An area of low pressure tracked from Colorado on the morning of the 4th to the eastern Dakotas by the morning of the 5th. The storm produced between 6 and 18 inches of heavy wet snow. The heavy snowfall covered an area from extreme eastern Sheridan County and eastern Roosevelt County through eastern McCone, southeast Garfield, and Southern Petroleum Counties and points east to the north Dakota Border. The heaviest snow fell in Wibaux and Dawson Counties where more than a foot of snow was observed. The snow occurred at a time when the leaves where still on the trees, and combined with winds of 25 to 35 mph to cause many trees and tree branches to be downed, and knocked out power to many areas. Although most areas had power restored within a few to several hours, a few spots did not have the power restored for a day or two. The strong wind also combined with the snow to produce blizzard conditions at times and created snowdrifts that were several feet deep in spots. Interstate 94 from Terry to the North Dakota State Line was closed early on the morning of the 5th and did not reopen until evening. Many secondary roads where either closed or open to emergency travel only. The heavy snow caused many schools and businesses to close across the area.

A strong area of low pressure across the extreme northeast corner of Montana produced a period of strong wind along the backside of the low. Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph were common with wind gusts as high as 85 mph at the Zortman Mine Raws site. A total of 348 power poles were snapped by a combination of wet snow and sleet that stuck to the poles and the strong wind across Phillips, McCone, Garfield, and Prairie Counties. One of the harder hit area was in the Little Rockies where shingles blew off of several houses in the town of Zortman. The Gulch Campground in the Little Rockies was severely impacted by the storm as an estimated 170 trees of varying sizes were either totally blown over or the tops broken off. Other areas that were particularly hard hit included Brockway and Brusett where many power poles snapped. Although the power was restored to most areas within a couple of days, a few spots remained without power for nearly a week. The lack of electricity made calving operations difficult for many ranchers. A few of the higher wind gusts included:Zortman Mine Raws Site (Phillips county): 85 mphKing Coulee Raws Site (Valley county): 72 mphBluff Creek Raws Site (Valley county): 62 mph