At least five people perished when a dust storm with wind gusts above 60 miles per hour caused a pileup on Interstate 90 in Montana on Friday evening, according to police.

More than 20 vehicles were wrecked, and according to Sgt. Jay Nelson of the Montana Highway Patrol, the weather was to blame.

He stated, "It appears that strong winds caused a dust storm with zero visibility."

While the highway patrol did not have a quick tally of the victims, Nelson reported that extra ambulances from Billings were dispatched to assist.

Gov. Greg Gianforte stated on Twitter, "I am very saddened by the news of a tragedy in Hardin that resulted in multiple fatalities. Please join me in praying for the victims and their family members. We are grateful for the service of our first responders."

The incident occurred three miles west of Hardin, or five kilometers.

Nick Vertz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, stated that the dust storm's origins might be traced back many hours to when storms erupted in central southern Montana between 1 and 2 p.m. and slowly moved east.

Friday from mid-afternoon to 9 p.m., a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for Hardin and other regions of Montana due to these storms. Meteorologists predicted the possibility of isolated quarter-sized hail, dispersed winds of up to 75 miles per hour (121 kilometers per hour), and frequent lightning.

Vertz said that a so-called "outflow" — a surge of wind generated by storms that can travel faster than them — was approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) east/southeast of the storms.

At 4:15 p.m., a wind gust of 40 mph (64 kph) was reported at the adjacent Big Horn County Airport. At 4:28 p.m., the crash was reported to the highway patrol.

By the following reading at 4:35 p.m. from the airport weather station, the gusts had increased to 62 mph (100 kph). A second reading 20 minutes later indicated a gust of 64 miles per hour (103 kph).

The vision was decreased to less than a quarter of a mile due to the wind picking up dust caused by recent temperatures in the 90s and triple digits (0.4 kilometers).

"If they looked up at the sky in Hardin, they probably didn't see much of what you would consider to be a thunderstorm cloud, if anything," Vertz said. It was merely a sudden gust of wind that sprang out of nowhere.

As first responders work to clear the wreckage, the meteorologist predicts they will be free of other winds and thunderstorms.

"The night should be relatively calm and clear for them," he said.