Kalispell sets record high; damaging winds blast East Glacier

Strong winds, with occasional gusts of up to 100 mph, made travel difficult along the Rocky Mountain Front in northern Montana, while record high temperatures were seen in some areas, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

Temperatures Sunday and Sunday night were forecast to be about 20 to 30 degrees above normal, with records expected in several locations.

Kalispell reached 59 by Sunday afternoon, topping the daily record of 51 set in 1899. Missoula hit 62, the warmest high temperature on record for this late in the season.

Helena reached 65 at midday Sunday, eclipsing the record of 56 set in 2014. Bozeman, Dillon, Chinook and Havre also set record high temperatures on Sunday. Chinook reached 66, breaking the old record of 62.

Meanwhile, southwest winds of 40 to 70 mph were forecast along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and the western edge of Glacier National Park.

Motorists were warned the wind would cause difficult travel conditions on Interstate 15 from Great Falls to the Canadian border, along Montana Highway 200 from Great Falls to Simms; U.S. Highway 89 from Monarch to Babb; U.S. Highway 2 from Cut Bank to Marias Pass and U.S. Highway 87 from Great Falls to Lewistown.

Isolated power outages, downed trees and property damage were possible, the weather service said.

A wind gust of 102 mph was recorded at Deep Creek, an area southwest of Browning, on Sunday morning, while East Glacier recorded a gust of 85 mph, the weather service said.

A high wind warning was also in effect for the rest of north-central Montana, east of the Continental Divide, where wind gusts could reach 50 to 70 mph.

Near-record to record high temperatures are expected again Wednesday, the Weather Service in Missoula reported in its forecast discussion Sunday. Low temperatures may only manage to hit the upper 30s to low 40s Wednesday and Thursday.

A return to more normal temperatures is predicted, but not until next weekend.

"The subtropical ridge which has persisted across much of the western

U.S. during November will likely shift well off the California coast," the Weather Service stated. "As the ridge moves westward, a longwave trough will dig southeast across British Columbia and Alberta toward the Northern Rockies. Global ensembles are in good agreement with above normal precipitation, particularly across mountain locations."

Valley snowfall, however, remains a question mark.

"Guidance is struggling with how much Canadian cold air will march south

into the Northern Rockies," the Weather Service added.