Flood — Hill, Montana

2023-04-12 to 2023-04-14 · near Laredo, Hill, Montana

Event narrative

Mountain snowpack in the Milk River basin melted out very quickly and contributed significant flooding. Virtually the entire Milk River system flooded in a matter of days as a result, starting near the headwaters in Hill County. Big Sandy Creek near Havre crested at 12.07 feet on April 13, which (as of entry) was the fourth highest crest on record. Route 50 was greatly flooded as well as some businesses . Farther north, Lodge Creek below McRae Creek approached Major Flood stage before cresting at 10.59 feet on April 18th. Much of rural northern Hill County experienced flooding as a result. The Milk River gauge near Havre remained below flood stage, although river levels did come out of their banks farther east, ultimately impacting eastern portions of Havre.

Wider weather episode

Unseasonably warm temperatures occurred in the first two weeks of April, with highs near 80 degrees occurring at times. These warm temps, along with occasional rain, resulted in melting of a deep snowpack on top of frozen ground which led to significant runoff into area waterways. Moderate to major flooding occurred along portions of the Milk River and its tributaries. Impactful snowmelt flooding also occurred across Southcentral Montana, in particular across the Gallatin Valley.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (48.4865, -109.9723)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1096952. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.