BUTTE — A May snowstorm caused power outages and travel issues in western Montana on Wednesday.
The Department of Transportation closed Interstate 90 over Homestake Pass east of Butte due to jackknifed semi-trailers and poor travel conditions due to heavy, wet snow. Travelers were encouraged to take alternate routes.
NorthWestern Energy said about 4,000 customers in the Missoula area lost power when tree limbs fell on power lines. Other scattered outages were reported west of Helena and in Cascade, Ulm and Great Falls.
A storm system moving across western and southwestern Montana on Wednesday brought snow to the higher elevations along the Rocky Mountain Front and heavy rain at lower elevations.
The National Weather Service received a report that 3.5 inches of rain had fallen in Dupuyer, south of Glacier National Park, from Tuesday through noon Wednesday and it was still raining.