Blizzard Conditions in North-Central Montana

An end-of-winter storm brought blizzard conditions to north-central Montana, closing roads and downing power lines in the Havre area on Monday.

The Montana Department of Transportation closed U.S. 2 from Chester to the Fresno turnoff, while U.S. 2 between Havre and Chinook was closed due to blowing snow and downed power poles.

NorthWestern Energy spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch says about 8,000 customers between Havre and Harlem were out of power for an extended time Monday. The Havre Daily News did not print its newspaper due to the outage.

The National Weather Service reported Havre and Raynesford received about a foot of snow, while Grass Range and Lewistown reported 8 inches of snow. Drifts up to 5 feet deep were reported in Grass Range and Raynesford.