Important: Really Powerful Crosswinds Targeted In SW Montana Friday

Dangerous winds of up to 60 mph are howling through the I-90 corridor and southwest Montana on Friday. Travel may be difficult for tall, high profile vehicles. Towing units might get blown around on the open roads as well.

Special Weather statements and Wind advisories have been issued by the National Weather Service for almost every county in southwest Montana through Friday evening. There are also Wind Advisories issues for the Fort Peck Lake area.

• Gusty Winds With A Cold Front Passage Friday Afternoon.
• An eastward moving Pacific cold front will cross the continental divide late this morning and sweep east across central and southwest Montana this afternoon.
• Gusty west winds will increase further as the front passes with most locations seeing a period with 40 to 50 mph wind gusts this afternoon.
• Brief gusts to around 55 mph are likely over the mountains, including most passes, with isolated higher gusts possible.
• Be ready for strong crosswinds if traveling this afternoon, especially those with towing units or high profile vehicles.

Places like Homestake Pass, Bozeman Pass and the I-90 corridor will likely be affected. For the Butter area, a Wind Advisory has been issued:

• WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM THIS EVENING.
• WHAT...West winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected. Isolated wind gusts over 50 mph are possible with convective shower activity.
• WHERE...Butte/Blackfoot Region.
• WHEN...Until 8 PM Friday evening.
• IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
• PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

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