MISSOULA — Here's a look at Western Montana's top news stories for Tuesday.
An avalanche warning has been issued across mountain ranges in northwest Montana as heavy snowfall rates and wind-drifted snow create dangerous conditions. Flathead Avalanche Center Director Blase Reardon is encouraging people to stay away from the backcountry until conditions improve, noting that both natural and human-caused avalanches are being triggered. (Read the full story)
A Missoula resident is one of only nine people on the planet to hold the title of National Geographic Explorer at Large. Ami Vitale has worked in 110 countries, spent a decade as a war photographer and founded the nonprofit Vital Impacts, which has raised $3.7 million for conservation organizations around the globe. (Read the full story)
A Columbia Falls man is facing assault charges after allegedly threatening two victims with a sword and a firearm before barricading himself inside a home on 3rd Avenue West, prompting a SWAT response on Saturday. The 54-year-old suspect was eventually taken into custody and has been booked on two counts of assault with a weapon and resisting arrest. (Read the full story)
A steady band of precipitation has set up this morning, roughly from the Mission and Seeley and Swan valleys and south. Here, precipitation is expected to continue through mid-morning, bringing snow amounts of a trace to 3" in the valleys with higher amounts in the mountains. As you head northwest, precipitation quickly diminishes, with just light showers expected in these locations. (Read the full story)
The dust has fully settled from Super Bowl LX now two weeks removed, and for Patrick O'Connell, the reminiscing has begun. Playing — and winning — in the world's largest annual sporting spectacle with the Seattle Seahawks, the experience has started to sink in with O'Connell as he looks back at what they accomplished. (Read the full story)
