Havre 'dodged a bullet' during Sunday storm

Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Dave Sheppard said Havre "dodged a bullet" Sunday evening when a severe thunderstorm passed just south of the city.

"It was looking pretty bad," Sheppard said.

Despite the looks of the storm, however, he has not received any calls regarding damage from wind, flooding or lightning.

Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson also said no calls regarding the storm came across his desk yesterday or today.

Data collected by the national Weather Service at Havre City-County Airport west of town shows wind gusts reached 44 mph and less than one-tenth of an inch of rain fell there, though the most severe portion of the storm stayed south of the city.

Temperatures over the weekend were hot, reaching above 90 degrees Friday through Sunday, but the storm brought relief to that, dragging the temperature from 85 to 67 in a matter of minutes.

The forecast says this week will see milder temperatures, topping out in the low- to mid-80s most days, and a small amount of rain is possible both tonight and Tuesday.