A cold front brought strong winds to north-central Montana on Friday, October 4, 2024.

The winds started howling around 7 p.m., with gusts up to 75 miles per hour at Great Falls International Airport.

Other wind gusts recorded include 75 mph at Havre Airport, 75 mph at Fort Shaw and 67 mph at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Visitors to the Cirque Italia ‘water circus’ show in the Holiday Village Mall parking lot were evacuated as a precaution.

According to NorthWestern Energy, thousands of people are without power in and around Great Falls, and even more in other communities in the region.

Northwestern energy

The utility says crews have been dispatched to restore power, but there is no word on how long that will take.

Marias River Electric Cooperative posted on Facebook: “We are aware of power outages in several areas, including Shelby, Sunburst, Kevin and near the Tiber Dam, due to high winds. Crews are working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Please stay away from downed power lines or poles and report them immediately by calling 406.434.5575.”

Trees have also fallen across the region, in some cases falling onto roads and blocking traffic.

Tommy Lynch

Cory Reeves, the mayor of Great Falls, wrote: “As everyone knows, we are dealing with a massive storm in the Electric City. Please be patient as city workers do their best to clear fallen trees and debris from the roadways. Northwestern Energy is working also working to restore power to our city. Please keep all our first responders and city workers in your thoughts and prayers as they work diligently to restore our roads and city services.

Tommy Lynch

As the night progresses the winds will decrease, although it will still be windy with gusts of over 60 km/h possible.

We will keep you informed as we receive more information about storm damage.

MTN News