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LibbyMt.com > News > July 2007 > Libby Storm Damage


Movie Screen Blown Over. Photo by Dee Teske.
Movie Screen Blown Over
This is what was left of the Libby Drive-In movie screen on Thursday morning after a powerful series of thunderstorms hit Northwest Montana Wednesday night with winds up to 70 miles per hour. Photo by Dee Teske.

Drive In Theater Screen Damage. Photo by Dee Teske.
Drive In Theater Screen Damage
Libby Drive-In movie theater damage close up. Photo courtesy Dee Teske.
Libby Storm Damage
Libby drive in movie theater screen blown over
by LibbyMT.com
July 19, 2007

A string of severe thunderstorms hit Northwest Montana late Wednesday evening, July 18, bringing strong winds, lightning, hail and heavy rains. The winds blew down trees and causing flash flooding in Lincoln County.

With daylight, the damage from the storm is being assessed. In Libby, high winds from the storm blew over the movie screen at the Libby drive-in theater; as well as the baseball backstops. Trees were blown down and a lot of fence blown over in the Libby area.

Flash flooding was also reported last night in Libby, where an estimated four inches of rain was reported in ½ hour. Trained spotters reported wind gusts of up to 70 mph in Libby last night. The National Weather Service sent out multiple media alerts and updates for the thunderstorms progress and flash flood warnings for specific areas in Lincoln and Flathead Counties over the course of several hours as the storm unfolded.

The strong winds knocked out the power in Libby while the storm was taking place Wednesday night. Power outages were also reported in Flathead and Lake Counties Wednesday night as the storm moved east. The storm impacted northwest Montana from Libby to Swan Valley.

The National Weather Service reported a confirmed report of a tornado touchdown in Polson, around the southern end of Flathead Lake (east of Libby, south of Kalispell), around 8:00 pm last night. There were reports of funnel clouds sighted in other areas.

Photos by Dee Teske and Maggie Craig, as indicated



Drive-In Theater. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Drive-In Theater
The movie screen lies in a heap, being pushed over by the high wind.

Drive-In Theater. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Drive-In Theater
The screen landed in the kiddie play area of the drive-in.

Drive-In Theater. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Drive-In Theater
The movie screen fell forward onto the fence, crushing the fence and demolishing the screen.

Parmenter Area. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Parmenter Area
Broken trees were a common sight after the storm.

Woodway Park. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Woodway Park
This tree uprooted and fell from the back yard to the front, incredibly missing houses.

Woodway Park. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Woodway Park
The tree was guided by two large trees in the front yard, keeping it away from the house and the neighbor's house.

Debris Clean-Up. Photo by LibbyMT.com.
Debris Clean-Up
Residents were cleaning up Thursday, like this house near the Post Office.

Storm Debris. Photo by Maggie Craig, LibbyMT.com.
Storm Debris
U.S. Highway 2 twenty miles south of Libby was littered with tree branches and tops after Wednesday's thunderstorm passed through with high winds and pea-sized hail. Judging by the strength of the storm, significant damage is sure to be reported in northwest Montana.
 

LibbyMt.com > News > July 2007 > Libby Storm Damage
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