(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Gianforte has requested a disaster declaration from President Joe Biden in response to a July windstorm in Missoula and Powell counties. In his letter to Biden, Gianforte wrote that “long-lasting thunderstorms that produced strong damaging winds” in the area. “When these thunderstorms settled into the Missoula area, they produced gusts of winds of 109 miles per hour on Mt. Sentinel, 81 mph at the Missoula Airport and an estimated 90-100 mph winds throughout the city of Missoula,” wrote Gianforte. “These wind speeds are consistent with the extensive widespread da…