Flood — Lewis and Clark, Montana

2023-04-09 to 2023-04-11 · near Birdseye, Lewis and Clark, Montana

$100K

Property damage

Event narrative

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office reported the high bridge over the Dearborn River was washed out. Public works closed the road at Flat Creek. Several secondary roads across the area were flooded at times. Flooding across northwest Helena also occurred, especially west of Birdseye Road.

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 → (46.6323, -112.1494)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1096958. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.