Thunderstorm Wind — Ravalli, Montana

2017-07-15 · near Florence, Ravalli, Montana

Event narrative

Multiple trees fell due to the severe wind in the Florence area with up to 6 inch diameter bases. One large tree fell onto a house and broke the sky light. Another tree hit a power line on Ambrose Creek causing a fire. Over three thousand customers were without power for four hours after the thunderstorm went through.

Wider weather episode

An upper level wave tracked up from the Clearwater Mountains of Idaho towards the Seeley Lake area and initiated thunderstorms thanks to warmer than normal temperatures in the region. As these storms tracked over the Bitterroot and Clark Fork Valleys, they produced damaging winds and power outages. Also, a thunderstorm produced torrential rain and subsequent flash-flooding to Anaconda in southwestern Montana.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (46.6300, -114.0800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 705257. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.