Gallatin County Severe Thunderstorm Watch Wednesday Afternoon

Rowdy weather conditions may arrive in Gallatin County with strong, gusty winds and possible hail on Wednesday afternoon.

There are several areas in southwest Montana that may be affected by severe weather this afternoon. See below for a complete list of areas of concern. (There's a lot of them!) Central Montana counties are also included in this Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

Areas outside of Dillon, Montana have already experienced dime sized hail with isolated storms.

Thunderstorms producing cloud to ground lightning within 5 nm of the Bozeman airport are expected between 3 and 6 PM.

Take care if you're traveling in wide open areas or over mountain passes. Heavy lightning activity can be very dangerous, and conditions can worsen quickly. Strong, gusty winds will carry debris and can snap tree branches.

According to the National Weather Service:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH, IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN MONTANA:

THIS WATCH INCLUDES 14 COUNTIES IN CENTRAL MONTANA, CASCADE FERGUS JUDITH BASIN MEAGHER IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA BLAINE CHOUTEAU HILL LIBERTY PONDERA TETON IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA BROADWATER GALLATIN JEFFERSON IN WEST CENTRAL MONTANA LEWIS AND CLARK

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF:  AUGUSTA, BATTLE RIDGE PASS, BELT, BIG SANDY, BOULDER, BOULDER HILL, BOZEMAN APT, BOZEMAN PASS, BRADY, BYNUM, CARTER, CASCADE, CHESTER, CHINOOK, CHOTEAU

Also included: CITY OF BOZEMAN, CONRAD, DEEP CREEK PASS, DUTTON, ELK PARK PASS, FAIRFIELD, FLESHER PASS, FORT BENTON, GRASS RANGE, GREAT FALLS, HARLEM, HAVRE, HAYS, HEART BUTTE, HELENA, HOBSON, HOMESTAKE PASS, KINGS HILL PASS, LEWISTOWN, LEWISTOWN DIVIDE, LINCOLN, MACDONALD PASS, MARTINSDALE, MONTANA CITY, RAYNESFORD, ROCKY BOY, ROGERS PASS, RUDYARD, STANFORD, TARGHEE PASS, TOSTON, TOWNSEND, WEST YELLOWSTONE, WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WHITEHALL, WHITLASH, WINIFRED, AND WINSTON.