We spoke to Northwestern Energy spokesperson Jo Dee Black at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, after a severe windstorm knocked out power to thousands of homes in the Missoula area.

“At about 4:30 p.m. the wind caused a power outage that impacted about 2,700 Northwestern Energy customers in the Mullan Road area in Missoula,” said Black. "Crews responded immediately and most of those customers had service by 6:10 p.m. There are additional outages in the Missoula area down through Hamilton that were caused by problems because of this wind. This is a good time to remind everyone that if you see a downed or damaged power line stay far away from it, and report it because safety is our priority. Our crews are working to restore service as quickly as possible in a safe manner when there is an outage."

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LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

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