Thunderstorm rips through Missoula, Bitterroot valleys, winds reach 109 (2024)

A powerful thunderstorm blitzed the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys Wednesday evening, sparking wildfires, toppling trees and power lines and generally snarling civilization in a 30-minute rampage.

As emergency crews fanned out across western Montana, they kept weather eyes on an expected second storm front expected to hit early Thursday morning. A following cold front was forecast to drop temperatures from the triple digits down to the mid-80s Thursday and Friday.

Winds strong enough to wobble street lamp poles hit downtown Missoula shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday. Soon tree branches, then whole trees started falling on power lines across the city. Internet and cell phone service failed across much of the region around 10 p.m.

A fallen live power line trapped a large crowd of pedestrians trying to cross the Van Buren Street pedestrian bridge by the University of Montana campus. A spruce tree three feet in diameter fell across Spruce Street a block away from the St. Patrick Hospital, partially blocking a routine access to the emergency room.

A second and final "garden variety" thunderstorm was expected to reach Missoula at about 12:20 a.m. Thursday, said meteorologist LeeAnn Allegretto with the National Weather Service in Missoula.

The second storm was cooling down over the Bitterroot-Selway Wilderness in Idaho as Allegretto spoke with a reporter at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"It actually is looking like the lightning component of that is dying out," she said.

Winds were expected to be 30mph, possibly up to 40mph, "but not 80mph."

"I'm hoping it's just 30," she said.

At about midnight the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office confirmed on social media three new fires in the Bitterroot National Forest on the northwest side of the valley. The largest is in the North Kootenai Creek area, while the sheriff's office said the others were reported in the Bass Creek and Joshua Creek areas.

"We thank both the Ravalli County 911 Center and (Bitterroot National Forest) Fire Dispatch for their incredible work this evening," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. "Over 500 calls for service were handled by 911 during this storm."

Residents in Florence reported seeing a wildfire start in the Sapphire Mountains about 9:30 p.m. Fire officials had even preparing all Wednesday for the potential storm, with NorthWestern Energy announcing it was monitoring the situation in case it needed to trigger a widespread power outage to prevent additional fire ignitions.

Frenchtown Rural Fire District reported a structure fire after pine tree crashed onto a power line in Alberton, causing the lines to arc at around 9:30 p.m. The FRFD sent units to Southside Road area at roughly the same time.

Missoula and Ravalli counties both had issues with their dispatch centers. Ravalli County Sheriff's Office on social media said their phone lines were being dropped as they were inundated with calls about fires on the west side of the valley.

Missoula County 911 maintained power through the storm, but was inundated with calls, according to Granite County's Facebook page.

Mineral County Disaster and Emergency Services said its phone lines were down, as well.

The National Weather Service's Missoula office at the airport reported 81 mph winds at its location, and gusts reaching 109 at the top of Mount Sentinel.

Thousands of Northwestern Energy customers remained without power along the I-90 corridor to Missoula's east and west, as well as those in the Bitterroot Valley to the south, over an after the storm had passed.

Satellite mapping showed the storm continuing northwest and NWS Missoula issued warnings for Condon, St. Ignatius, Charlo and Seeley areas.

Missoulian reporters quickly received reports around town of trees fallen on vehicles, buildings and structures throughout town.