Thousands in northwest Montana lose power as windstorm batters the state

A windstorm battered western Montana on Thursday morning, leaving more than 3,000 households and businesses without power in Flathead and Lincoln counties.

As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 2,000 customers were without power in communities near Libby, according to the Flathead Electric Cooperative. Hundreds more were affected by outages in communities from Marion to Swan Lake to Essex.

A high wind warning remains in effect throughout western Montana through 6 p.m., although the most powerful wind gusts were being reported in the northern part of the region.

Since midnight Wednesday, wind gusts over 80 mph had been clocked in the mountains north of Whitefish and just outside Glacier National Park. North of Missoula, a wind gust of 79 mph was recorded on Point Six, a mountain peak just outside Montana Snowbowl.

The ski hill was closed Thursday due to high winds, although only scattered power outages in west-central Montana had been reported, according to NorthWestern Energy.

But snow was in the forecast for much of the region, with a winter storm warning in effect through noon Saturday for much of western Montana. Multiple feet of snow could fall in many mid- to high-elevation parts of the region, with the exception of the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys and an area from the Flathead Valley west to the Idaho state line.

Avalanche centers across the region were also warning of high avalanche danger in the mountains from the mountains north of Whitefish through Glacier, the Swan and Flathead mountain ranges, the Seeley Lake area, Rattlesnake and Bitterroot mountains. The warnings were in effect through at least Friday morning.

A blizzard warning also remains in effect west of the Continental Divide, from Marias Pass and Glacier south to Rogers Pass outside Lincoln.

"Have alternative travel plans ready, and make sure everybody is keeping a close watch on the latest information coming out," National Weather Service Meteorologist Brad Mickelson said during a Tuesday conference call. "You'll see areas where roads will likely be severe driving conditions — or closed, if it gets this bad."

A map of up-to-date driving conditions can be found on the Montana Department of Transportation's website.

Flathead County stated on social media that all schools in the county would be closed Thursday in anticipation of the storm.

The Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency was asking residents to limit travel to necessary circumstances only, with downed trees and powerlines in the roads.

Lincoln County has been pummeled by weather events in recent months. Shortly after widespread flooding in December inundated buildings, washed out roads and bridges and knocked out drinking water in Libby, a powerful wind storm left thousands of residents without power for up to a week.