Power Outage in Lewistown, MT

The West Wind Fire was first reported on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 as a start in Judith Basin County that quickly spread into Fergus County. High winds with gusts over 60 mph pushed the fire into the town of Denton, MT where multiple structures were threatened. 25 primary structures, 18 secondary structures and 6 commercial structures are destroyed, along with 100,000 bushels of recently harvested grain that burned in two grain elevators. The fire was caused by a powerline.

A survey conducted by an NWS employee found damage consistent with straight line winds of 70 kts (80 mph). There was a downed power pole and a 12 foot section of roof damage on a building.

Power outages were reported throughout Fergus County due to heavy wet snow weighing down transmission lines. Report was relayed by Fergus Power Cooperative via facebook.

A thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 64 mph at Roy 2E. Several large trees were reported down along with several power poles. Sheet metal was also reported to have been blown across the road.

A thunderstorm produced 1 inch diameter hail at Lewistown. The hail accumulated to a depth of two inches on the ground. Power outages were reported in parts of the city.

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 dry microburst moved through the Lewistown area during the evening hours on the 14th. Wide spread tree damage occurred, causing power to be knocked out and damaging vehicles.

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 compact upper level closed low moved southeastward through Montana during the early morning hours of Thursday May 7th. Most lower elevation locations reported moderate to heavy rainfall with this system, though the combination H700 temperatures around -5C and diabatic cooling brought a period of accumulating snow to Fergus and Judith Basin County locations at and below 4000 ft. The greatest impacts were exerted on area power infrastructure.

A late winter storm brought heavy wet snow to portions of Southwest and North Central Montana, with around a foot measured at some high elevation Snotel sites. Power outages and numerous poles down were reported.

A powerful late autumn storm brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to portions of North Central Montana on the 14th. Reported snow amounts include: 12 inches at Lincoln 14E, 9 inches at Raynesford 2NW and 6 inches at Half Moon Pass. In addition to the heavy snow, strong winds created blizzard conditions for several hours.

An early spring storm brought winter conditions to Fergus and Judith Basin counties during daylight hours on the 9th. Reported snow fall amounts include: 10 inches at Havre 23S; 6 inches at Hobson 6ESE and 4 inches at Lewistown 8E. In addition to the heavy snow, strong winds created areas of blowing snow that reduced visibilities to less than 100 yards at times. The heavy wet snow and high winds were responsible for the downing of 141 power poles in Blaine county resulting in the interruption of power to nearly 400 homes. Additionally, an estimated 170 trees were either blown over or had their tops broken off at the Montana Gulch Campground located in the Little Rocky Mountains.

A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Suffolk. A funnel cloud was also reported with this storm. The funnel remained close to the cloud base and did not reach the ground. This storm knocked several power lines down and started numerous small fires on the ground. Associated heavy rainfall put the fires out.