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Flood Watch

UPDATE: Flood Warnings now cover most of SW Montana

Posted: Jun 7, 2011 7:44 PM by Meteorologist Mike Heard
Updated: Jun 7, 2011 10:55 PM


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FLOOD WARNINGS now include Beaverhead, Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson, Deer Lodge, Granite and Powell counties until further notice. Today's heavy rainfall has put most rivers and streams up to or over their flood stages and with more rain in the forecast serious flooding is likely for the rest of this week and possibly this weekend.

Please report any flooding you encounter to law enforcement and to us here at KXLF/KBZK as we will help warn those in danger. Please send us any photo's or video's of flooding via email to: photo@kxlf.com or photo@kbzk.com

Gallatin River at Logan was up to 8.69' at 6pm tonight and is expected to continue to rise to 9.7' sometime Wednesday or Thursday. Flood stage is 8'. Those living near Logan and downstream should prepare for moderate to major flooding for the rest of this week. Gallatin River at Gallatin Gateway is expected to hit 6' in the next 48 hours which is it's flood stage and right now no significant flooding is expected, however, those living in Gallatin Gateway should monitor river levels very closely for the rest of the week and this weekend.

Big Hole River at Melrose at 6pm tonight was up to 5.88' with a flood stage of 6'. Hydrologists with the National Weather Service are predicting the river to rise to 8.8' by 6pm Wednesday. Major flooding is likely in the Melrose area and downstream for the rest of this week and the river is likely to remain above it's flood stage through the weekend.

Jefferson River at Three Forks at 6pm tonight was well below it's flood stage at 6.93' and a flood stage of 8'. Water levels are increasing slowly on Jefferson and with the increase flows of the Big Hole River dumping into the Jefferson water levels should jump rapidly within the next 48 hours. Forecast is calling for the river to hit 9.7' by Thursday afternoon which is very close to it's all time level of 9.9'.

Jefferson River at Twin Bridges will also be on the rise Wednesday through the weekend. As of 6pm tonight it rising to 7.41' with a flood stage of 10'. The river is expected to sharply rise to 12' by late Wednesday which is a good 2' above it's flood stage.

Missouri River at Toston at 6pm tonight was at 9.3' with a flood stage of 10.5'. Forecast is calling for a sharp rise to 12.2' Thursday night which is it's historical crest value. The river is expected to fall back down to it's flood stage by Saturday.

Clark Fork River at Deer Lodge is not expected to hit it's flood stage over the next several days, however, smaller streams and creeks are overrunning their banks tonight and there is a flood risk on those smaller streams like Cottonwood Creek in Deer Lodge and Warm Springs Creek in Anaconda.

Yellowstone River at Livingston is likely to remain below flood stage within the next 72 hours and no major flooding is anticipated at this time.

Another slow moving pacific storm will enter SW Montana Wednesday into Thursday and forecast models are projecting more rain in the neighborhood of .25" to 1.50" for those 2 days. This will only aggravate the flooding situation so look for conditions to worsen before they improve later this weekend or early next week.

Stay tuned to Montana's News Station and STORMTracker Weather meteorologists Mike Heard, Adam Bell and Jeff Kelly for the latest flood information on Montana This Morning, Noon News, and the 5:30pm & 10pm news and of course on line.

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