Missoula, Montana Power Outage Today

How reliable is NorthWestern Energy service in Missoula?

NorthWestern Energy is an investor-owned utility with 376,392 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.3 interruptions and 233 minutes (about 3.9 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 3 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 49% of that time. Without them the average is 118 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

The typical outage was repaired in about 3 hours.

For comparison, Montana as a whole averaged 352 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts NorthWestern Energy below the state average, which is better.

Among the 6 utilities in Montana with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, NorthWestern Energy ranks 2nd for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 43% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Missoula

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 69 storm reports for Missoula County from 2015 through 2026, most often hail (24), thunderstorm wind (22), flood (18), and heavy rain (3). The busiest full year was 2018 with 14 reports and the quietest was 2020 with 1, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in August (21 since 2015), followed by July and May. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 41 storm episodes in Missoula County since 2015, most often in May. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Missoula do to the grid:

• Flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.
• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• Hail. Hail rarely cuts power by itself, but it often arrives with the wind and lightning that do, and it breaks solar panels, windshields and exposed utility equipment.

Storm reports that name Missoula

Within Missoula County, 34 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Missoula as their location or in their description: flood (15), thunderstorm wind (13), hail (4), and dust devil (1). That is about 49% of the county’s reports, so Missoula accounts for much of the county’s storm history. Reports naming Missoula are most common in May. The busiest full year was 2018 with 10.

In NOAA’s own words, storms that left Missoula without power:

• August 18, 2016 (thunderstorm wind): “Two transmission poles located in the South Hills area of Missoula were knocked out by the wind which caused a power outage.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• August 6, 2016 (thunderstorm wind): “The Missoula dispatch reported a lot of tree limbs down around town with numerous power lines down.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Missoula

57% of occupied homes in Missoula are heated with piped natural gas, and 40% with electricity (US 41.3% electric). A gas furnace still needs electricity for its blower and ignition, so a long winter outage leaves these homes cold too, though a gas supply stays on when the grid fails. Never heat a home with an oven, grill or camp stove indoors.

Residents aged 65 or older are 15% of the population in Missoula, close to the US share of 17.2% and 12.2% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask NorthWestern Energy whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 34.5% of the housing in Missoula was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 53% of households rent (US 34.8%), so many residents depend on a landlord to restore building systems and cannot add a generator or battery themselves.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Missoula

The average NorthWestern Energy home used about 711 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.0 kW around the clock, and paid about 14.2 cents per kWh (12.7 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $101 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average about 3 hours takes about 1.2 kWh. A portable power station or a power bank covers that; a generator is more than most households here need for a typical outage.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Missoula

About 75,051 people live in Missoula, the 2nd largest of the 4 Montana cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check NorthWestern Energy’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Missoula power outage map

NorthWestern Energy’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Missoula power outage questions