Power Outage in Havre, MT

Public report of two power poles snapped at the base on mt highway 232 at mile marker 21. Additionally, signs were reported to be blown over. Time estimated via radar.

Two power poles snapped at the base. Road signs reported to be blown over.

Twitter report of a power outage south of Havre due to strong winds.

Northwestern Energy reports about 7000 customers without power due to the winter storm in Havre and points east. Power could be out for several days.

Widespread and extensive tree and power line damage throughout the city of Havre due to heavy snow and strong winds. Trees and large branches have fallen on cars, homes, and power lines. Thousands without power in town. Some roads closed due to fallen trees.

Golf ball size hail and power outage reported due to thunderstorm.

High wind gusts, estimated at 50KT (58MPH), blew a tree onto a vehicle. A camper was blown over, power lines were down, and a fence was also blown down.

A strong Canadian cold front pushed through North Central MT during the late morning and early afternoon hours on the 16th. Strong sustained winds of 40 to 45 mph, with gusts over 70 mph accompanied the front. Enough cold air filtered in behind this cold front to produce light snow along the Rocky Mountain Front and the adjacent plains. There was widespread wind damage with this event. Over 50 power lines were knocked down in the Great Falls area. Major tree damage was reported in Cascade, Teton and Lewis and Clark counties. Here is a list of some of the top wind speeds recorded during the event:Augusta 10W 80 mph at 1135 MST; Choteau 73 mph at 0920 MST; Vaughn 70 mph at 0955 MST; Fort Shaw 70 mph at 1020 MST; Great Falls 70 mph at 1020 MST; Hobson 66 mph at 0930 MST; Helena 15S 66 mph at 1030 MST; Cascade 5W 65 mph at 1030 MST; Lewistown 10N 60 mph at 1035 MST; Lewistown 20S 59 mph at 1100 MST; Inverness 45-50 mph sustained winds from 1000-1100 MST; Hays 42 mph sustained winds at 1224; Sweetgrass 42 mph sustained winds at 0945 MST.

A high wind event occurred over much of North Central Montana during the afternoon and early evening hours of the 22nd. Sustained winds over 40 mph, with gusts near 60 mph were recorded.Some of the strongest wind gusts recorded from this event include: 67 mph at Great Falls, 63 mph at Rudyard, and 60 mph at Loma and Power 7 SW.

A high wind event occurred across all of North Central Montana beginning on the 13th and ending on the 14th. The winds began to increase in intensity over the Rocky Mountain Front early on the 13th and then increased in intensity over the northern plains by the mid afternoon hours. The winds subsided a bit during the overnight hours between the 13th and 14th. However, by midday on the 14th, strong winds were once again blowing across all of North Central Montana. Sustained winds between 40 and 50 mph, with wind gusts between 60 and 70 mph occurred across the region.Areas of blowing dust caused near zero visibilities across much of the northern sections of the state, resulting in several roads being closed. The blowing dirt drifted to a depth of 3 feet in some areas. Additionally, numerous power outages occurred due to downed power lines and poles. One downed power line caused a 100-acre grass fire near Box Elder. An empty 60 foot grain elevator was blown over near Cut Bank. Several vehicles were blown off roads during this event.Some peak wind speeds from this event include:75 mph at Browning, 71 mph at Cut Bank, 70 mph at Rudyard, 64 mph at Shelby, 70 mph at Dupuyer and Pendroy, and 60 mph at Inverness, Big Sandy, Sweet Grass, and Del Bonita.

A high wind event occurred over all of North Central Montana and a portion of Southwest Montana, which began on the afternoon of the 21st and ended on the afternoon of the 22nd. Some of the strongest winds of the winter season were recorded during this event. Sustained winds of 45 to 65 mph were common across much of North Central Montana, with gusts between 60 and 80 mph. However, locations near the Rocky Mountain Front had wind gusts in excess of 100 mph.This high wind event caused scattered power outages throughout much of North Central Montana. One power line that was blown down 15 miles Southwest of Choteau sparked a grass fire. This fire was fanned by the wind, and burned 6000 acres. One farm and homestead were lost in the blaze. A few vehicles were blown off Interstate 15, while other vehicles had windshields cracked as stones were blown into them while driving. Many locations reported visibilities near zero at times, due to blowing dust over the plains and blowing snow over the mountains. Here is a list of some of the top wind speeds recorded during this event.On February 21st:Cut Bank 70 mph at 2046 MST; 4 W Augusta 75 mph at 2225 MST; Fort Shaw 80 mph at 2230 MST; Browning 81 mph at 2255 MST; 18 W Pendroy estimated 100 mph at 2310 MST.On February 22nd27 W Choteau 115 mph at 0040 MST; Silver City 73 mph at 0606 MST; 6 N Big Sandy estimated 85 mph at 0900 MST; 4 E Hobson estimated 70 mph at 1230 MST.

A high wind event occurred over all of North Central Montana on the 10th and 11th of February. The winds began to pick up in intensity over the Rocky Mountain Front late in the afternoon on February 10th. By late evening, high winds were reported across much of the region. The winds began to diminish in intensity during the morning hours on the 11th.During the peak of the wind event, visibilities were less than one mile in many locations due to blowing dust over the plains, and blowing snow in the mountain passes. Several power outages also occurred in Cascade and Lewis and Clark counties from the wind having knocked down power lines. Here is a list of some of the peak wind speeds recorded.On February 10th:Cut Bank 60 mph at 2233 MSTOn February 11th:13 West of Helena 58 mph at 0024 MST; Great Falls 72 mph at 0210 MST; 25 SE of Sweetgrass 65 mph at 0300 MST; Choteau 58 mph at 0330 MST; 68 to 78 mph gusts recorded across much of Fergus county between 0400 MST and 0700 MST; and Silver City 65 mph at 0625 MST.

A high wind event moved across north central Montana on the 12th. Sustained wind speeds of 40 to 50 mph were very common throughout the afternoon, and into the evening hours. Wind gusts were near 70 mph during the peak of the event. These winds started to increase in strength around 1100 MST and then they did not diminish until 2000 MST. The peak wind speeds occurred between 1300 MST and 1600 MST. Due to the very strong winds, blowing dust became a real hazard. The blowing dust reduced visibilities to near zero in many locations for a period of time. As a result of the near zero visibilities, a 12 vehicle accident occurred about 13 miles Southeast of Great Falls near 1330 MST, resulting in 2 fatalities and 4 injuries.Power was knocked out to over 1500 customer in the Great Falls metro area. A few trees were uprooted and several roofs were blown off as well. Near 1745 MST a train was blown off the tracks, just west of East Glacier, at the Midvale trestle. A total of 20 cars and 24 box containers were blown off the track. Wind speeds were estimated to be near 80 mph at the time of the accident.Some of the peak wind speeds recorded during the day were; Great Falls 68 mph at 1330 MST: Conrad 20 SE 68 mph at 1330 MST; Browning 62 mph at 1555 MST; Havre 50 mph at 1756 MST; Boulder 64 mph at 1951 MST, and Lewistown 51 mph at 1954 MST.

A strong late-spring storm moved through the Northern Rocky Mountains bringing a mix of rain and snow to region. Higher elevations received the brunt of the snow but some lower elevations lost power and had down tree limbs. Station KXLH in Helena, MT was also briefly knocked off the air due to the winter weather.

A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 59 mph at Inverness 1W (DOT site). Thunderstorms also developed over Lewis and Clark county during the late afternoon. Some of these storms produced numerous lightning strikes that started several forest fires. The storms also downed power lines in East Helena causing scattered power outages.

A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 65 mph at Havre. A roofer sustained minor injuries when he was blown off the building he was working on. The thunderstorm overturned an unoccupied trailer, knocked down numerous power and phone lines and broke the windshields of a dozen vehicles at two car dealerships.