BILLINGS, Mont.- A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings said all the elements that drive fire came together this week: low humidity, gusty wind and dry/dead fuel. Meteorologist Tom Frieders said we ve had record high temperatures, resulting in low humidity, and then, the strong winds allowed the fire near Roundup to spread quickly over the dry/dead winter grass.
Frieders also said the period from November 1 until now has been the third warmest on record (since 1934). We are averaging about 6.3 degrees above normal.
He also said we ve had slightly less precipitation than normal, but when you combine that with the winds we ve seen and no snow cover, the soil tends to really dry out. More information about precipitation can be found here.Â
Winds so strong across Montana they knocked out NW Energy outage map
Winds so strong they blew out NorthWestern Energy outage map
By: MTN News
and last updated 2021-01-13 20:14:11-05
Northwestern Energy reports that Wednesday s heavy winds in Montana are extreme enough the utility can t keep up with its online outage map.
Northwestern spokesperson JoDee Black said the utility will try to restore the website Wednesday night.
She said if you see low-hanging power lines or lines down, report it on their website or call 888-467-2669.
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A wind storm on Wednesday morning toppled trees across streets in central Missoula as a National Weather Service sensor recorded gusts of 125 mph on Mount Sentinel.
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