Labor Day Storm Pounds Montana

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The calendar still says "summer", but Mother Nature is out to tell us otherwise, after a very stormy weekend of golf-ball-sized hail, high winds, mountain snow, and enough rain to probably end the fire season in some parts of Montana.

Flood watches finally subsided this afternoon along both sides of the Northern Divide, impacting the West Glacier and East Glacier areas, the Flathead and Mission valleys, the Upper Blackfoot and Toole, Pondera, Teton and Liberty counties, the northern High Plains east to the Rocky Mountain Front.

Locations like Browning, Choteau, and Scobey recorded nearly 3 inches of rain. Condon received nearly 2 inches, and there were 2 inches at the "Point Six" weather station north of Missoula. Snow was also falling in the higher peaks of Glacier and "The Bob."

But it wasn't just rain that was the challenge. The National Weather Service was reporting hail up to 2 inches in diameter breaking windows early Monday morning in the Billings area. West of Malta at Wagner, there were reports of hail causing crop damage, with some of the "stones" up to golf ball-sized, with additional hail reports from communities like Roy and Landusky.

Winds gusted over 60 miles an hour in Winnett, and 64 in Lockwood, with numerous reports of wind gusts over 50 miles per hour.

Recent rainfall has allowed forestry officials along the Idaho-Montana border to reduce fire safety warnings. The U.S. Forest Service confirms the fire danger level across the Bitterroot National Forest was lowered from "High" to "Moderate" on Monday. Fire managers report substantial rain over the weekend halted new starts, though recreationists are still advised to monitor campfires closely.

Southwest Montana didn't see the heavy rains the entire weekend, although the area has seen cooler weather and some moisture.

Firefighters are continuing to work the Sand Creek, Bobcat Lake, and Moose fires, as well as fires southeast of Hamilton. But most of the blazes have seen minimal growth over the past few days. And morning temperatures down into the 30s have also helped limit fire activity.

Fire officials in Missoula County have lowered fire danger from high to MODERATE due to significant amounts of precipitation and projected weather patterns, effective immediately.