Western Montana Battered by Strong Winds and Overnight Snow

Winds clocked at up to 72 miles per hour battered western Montana and eastern Idaho overnight, according to the National Weather Service Office in Missoula.

Meteorologist Dave Noble provided details to KGVO just after 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

“We had a few snow bands that traversed across western Montana last night,” began Noble. “They brought strong gusty winds and periods of heavy snow. We had two inches of snow on the ground at midnight here in Missoula. That last snow band actually brought gusts to 67 miles per hour just before midnight. It was blustery out there.”

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Noble said wind gusts over 70 miles per hour were also recorded.

“The strongest winds that we saw in the valley locations were actually 72 miles per hour in Grangeville, Idaho,” he said. “We had 67 miles per hour here in Missoula. Point Six also had 67 miles per hour, that’s up on top of the mountain at about 8,000 feet. We had 55 mile per hours gusts in Stevensville, 55 miles per hour in Creston, Idaho, 53 miles per hour in Kalispell, and those are just some of the highlights.”

Noble said the system also contained some much-needed extra snow in the higher elevations.

“We had a fair amount of snow in the passes,” he said. “Lolo Pass was snow covered, even Georgetown Lake had some snow. We had snow on Lost Trail Pass, as well. It was just a really cold system and it had a lot of moisture with it with persistent snow showers.”

A high wind warning was in effect until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.