PHOTOS: Thunderstorm pummels Flathead Valley
Neighbors assess damage from an early morning storm along Fourth Street West near Elrod Elementary in Kalispell on Sunday, May 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Visitors take pictures of the historic Spring Prairie tree at Kidsports Complex in Kalispell on Sunday, May 31. The historic Ponderosa pine was toppled during an early-morning storm that left thousands in the valley without power. The tree, which was significantly damaged during a storm in 1989, is estimated to be 300 years old. The tree and the nearby spring served as a stopping point between Flathead Lake and present-day Eureka on The Fort Steele Road, which followed closely an old Indian trail known as The Tobacco Plains Trail. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A couple walks down North Main Street near Lawrence Park where several trees fell across power lines during an early-morning storm that left thousands in the valley without power on Sunday, May 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Natasha George and Danae Maxwell take photos of storm damage to a neighboring property along Fourth Street West near Elrod Elementary in Kalispell on Sunday, May 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Fred DeLay, left, of Kalispell, assesses damage from an early morning storm along Fourth Street West near Elrod Elementary in Kalispell on Sunday, May 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A person takes a picture of a large tree that was uprooted along Fourth Street West in Kalispell during an early morning storm that left thousands in the valley without power on Sunday, May 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A television journalist records video of storm damage along Fourth Street West near Elrod Elementary in Kalispell on Sunday, May 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Gene Gribbin, who lives on Swan Lake, takes a photo of the historic Spring Prairie tree at Kidsports Complex in Kalispell on Sunday, May 31. The historic Ponderosa pine was toppled during an early-morning storm that left thousands in the valley without power. The tree, which was significantly damaged during a storm in 1989, is estimated to be 300 years old. The tree and the nearby spring served as a stopping point between Flathead Lake and present-day Eureka on The Fort Steele Road, which followed closely an old Indian trail known as The Tobacco Plains Trail. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A strong thunderstorm with damaging winds gusting up to 69 mph swept through the Flathead Valley Sunday morning, causing widespread power outages to more than half of Flathead Electric Cooperative customers at one point.
