Frigid temperatures across region; more winter weather on the way
Fog comes off the Kootenai River at Riverfront Park in Libby Thursday afternoon. Temperatures in the Kootenai region dipped to nearly 40 degrees below zero in the early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 22. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Bone-chilling cold temperatures descended on northwest Montana late Wednesday and into Thursday.
According to the National Weather Service, shortly before noon on Thursday, it was minus-36 in the Yaak and minus-27 in Eureka.
Libby had a reading of minus-22 while Happy’s Inn was at minus-19. Troy showed a temperature of minus-9.
Members of the community shared lower temperatures earlier Thursday morning.
Members of Libby/Troy Community Connection shared other temperatures well below zero, including minus-38 at Upper Thompson Lake at 4 a.m. Thursday and minus-40 at Island Lake.
Thousands of power outages were also reported in the region, mainly in the Flathead Valley regions of Creston, Swan Valley and Kalispell.
While the Flathead had more than 3,000 outages as of late Thursday morning, there was also a small cluster of 84 in the Quartz Creek area, just 0utside of Libby.
According to the Flathead Electric Co-op, crews were working to determine the cause of the outage. It was initially reported at 9 a.m. Thursday.
According to Will Tutvedt, Digital Marketing and Community Outreach Specialist with Flathead Electric, the outage lasted for three hours, from 9 a.m. until 12:22 p.m., and affected 84 members.
“Our reports show the outage was caused by a fuse cutout,” Tutvedt wrote in an email. “We do not believe this was directly related to weather but rather just the natural deterioration and age of the equipment. The equipment has since been replaced and all members have been restored.”
While forecasters say temperatures are expected to rise over the next few days, wintry weather is still projected with snow, freezing rain and rain called for through Tuesday.
Overnight temperatures will range from the lower teens to low 40s in that time period.
This type of weather will increase the chance for hypothermia, impacts to livestock and pets as well as those who are more vulnerable.
Experts also recommend winterizing vehicles and packing an emergency supply kit.