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Officials warn: ‘Trees and power lines down all over Great Falls’ after Sunday storm

Posted at 7:14 PM, Jul 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-14 22:13:13-04

GREAT FALLS — A severe thunderstorm that moved through Great Falls Sunday afternoon brought heavy rain, nickel-sized hail, numerous power outages and extensive damage to central and north-central Montana.

“Trees and power lines are down all over Great Falls, and a second alarm has been called to bring in extra personnel to deal with the weather-caused emergency,” Great Falls Fire Rescue wrote on Facebook just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday. “[P]lease be cautious around town and give first responders the opportunity to work safely.”

Trees and power lines are down all over Great Falls and a second alarm has been called to bring in extra personnel to…

Posted by Great Falls Fire Rescue on Sunday, July 14, 2019

 

The National Weather Service (NWS) Great Falls reported wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour and nickel-sized hail around 5:50 p.m. Sunday. Extensive damage was done to roofing, trees and siding across the Electric City, and several power lines were brought down due to the severe conditions.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Cascade, Chouteau and Teton counties by NWS Great Falls earlier in the day.

ALERT: Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Cascade, Chouteau and Teton County until 5:00pm. More Info: https://bit.ly/2RiUicx #mtwx

Posted by STORMTracker Weather on Sunday, July 14, 2019

 

NorthWestern Energy is working to combat the outages, according to a social media post on the power and utility company’s Twitter page. “We are aware of outages affecting Great Falls and Cascade areas,” NorthWestern wrote just after 5 p.m., “more updates to come [and] your patience is greatly appreciated.”

Traffic was impacted because of downed power lines and trees around Seventh Street North and Third Avenue, as well as Sixth Avenue Northwest, according to observer’s reports. One major tree was down on Sixth Street Northwest around 23rd Avenue Northwest. The vicinity near Roadhouse Diner saw a large fallen tree obstructing traffic.

Observers told MTN News the eastbound lane of Interstate 15 was closed around 6 p.m., information that corresponds with reports of a downed power line at the Manchester-Vaughn exit near mile marker 282. Officials with the Montana Department of Transportation were working to clear the area.

A large tree was completely uprooted on Seventh Street and Third Avenue North near St. Ann’s Cathedral. (Photo by Elizabeth Transue/MTN News)

 

Two major outages — one near Wolf Point and one just outside of Craig — caused a power loss affecting a total of over 1,000 customers, according to the NorthWestern Energyofficial outage map webpage as of 6 p.m. Sunday. Well over a dozen reports of outages littered the Great Falls area, affecting hundreds of customers.

During severe thunderstorms, NWS Great Falls advises to “move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.”

Officials with NWS Great Falls have also advised that their phone systems are currently inexplicably down. They do not have an estimated time at which their service will return.

Our phones are currently down for an unknown reason. We do no currently have an estimated return to service. We apologize for any inconvenience

Posted by US National Weather Service Great Falls Montana on Sunday, July 14, 2019

 

Follow our STORMTracker Weather page for continuous updates on changing weather conditions in and around central and north-central Montana.

You can also download the STORMTracker Weather app, available on Google Play and the App Store.

Viewer Bailee Oswood sent this photo to MTN News of the Sunday hail storm in Great Falls from her back door at her residence in Eagle’s Crossing.

 

Montana Department of Transportation resources:


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