Winds Ease Across Montana, But Another Blast Coming

Winds have dropped considerably since yesterday, although some locations in Western Montana remain gusty through Monday afternoon. 

At the airport in Missoula, gusts hit as high as 40 miles per hour, with sustained winds around 30, with about the same in Hamilton and the Bitterroot. Helena recorded a gust of 52 miles per hour earlier today, with sustained winds around 25 miles per hour.

Some of the highest wind gusts yesterday included 92 miles per hour at the Deep Creek weather station southwest of Browning, 81 miles per hour at Harlowton, 89 miles per hour in Big Timber, and 76 miles per hour in Livingston.

Winds ripped off part of the roof at Lincoln Elementary School in Great Falls. Classes there will be canceled for the next couple of days, and city officials are asking people to stay clear of the area so cleanup won't be obstructed.

UPDATE: 

     District officials say an inspection of the wind-damaged roof at Lincoln Elementary shows it's safe to resume classes in the north end of the building.

School is still canceled today following Sunday's storm. But administrators say K through 3rd-grade students, with one additional class, will resume on campus. 4th-grade students will be going to Lewis & Clark School, and 5th and 6th graders will relocate to Paris Gibson Education Center.

Forecasters are warning that even stronger winds could be coming with another storm system hitting the Northern Rockies in the second half of the week.

Montana gas prices continue to soar

More bad news at the gas pumps today, with GasBuddy.com's latest survey confirming the sharp increase in prices we were seeing with the Triple AAA numbers on Friday.

GasBuddy's weekly survey on Sunday shows average gas prices in Montana rising just over 34 cents a gallon in the last week, pushing the average to $3.12 for a gallon of regular.

READ MORE: Will Montana Gas Prices Rise Another 25-to-50 Cents This Week?

Perhaps more critical for working Montanan's and consumers is that the survey shows the national average price of diesel has increased 85.9 cents compared to a week ago and stands at $4.59 per gallon.

      ⛽️ Montana Metro Prices

Missoula's average jumped to $3.15 Sunday, up from $2.78 last week. Billings is now at an average of $3.14, with Great Falls hitting $3.11.

Return of CANdemonium

Missoula Food Bank & Community Center will once again bring creativity, collaboration, and community awareness together at the Southgate Mall this week with its annual CANdemonium event. That's where teams built canned food structures to raise awareness about food insecurity in Missoula.

This year’s theme, “CAN You Dig It?”, invites teams to explore the world of paleontology and dinosaurs, transforming thousands of canned food items into imaginative, large-scale 3D structures inspired by prehistoric creatures, fossils, and ancient discoveries.

Construction kicks off this Friday, when MFB&CC’s staff team, partnered with MMW, will build the first structure, with St. Joseph’s School and WGM Group building the first structures.

A second round of construction will take place on March 20th. The creations will remain on display through March 27th, with mall visitors welcome to vote on their favorites in person or online through social media.