Montana sees strong winds, record high temps on Sunday

(AP) — 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.

Southwest winds of 40 to 70 mph were forecast along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, which is along 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 northern Montana, east of the Continental Divide, where wind gusts could reach 50 to 70 mph.

Temperatures Sunday and Sunday night were forecast to be about 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, with records expected in several locations, the weather service said.

Helena reached 66 F at midday Sunday, eclipsing the record of 56 F set in 2014. Bozeman and Havre had also set record high temperatures by midday.