Flood — Cascade, Montana

2023-05-17 to 2023-05-22 · near Armington, Cascade, Montana

Event narrative

BTCM8, Belt Creek near Monarch, crested at 6.79 feet on May 17th. Water levels resulted in strong currents that claimed the lives of two men visiting from Canada. The two men went into the fast moving water to retrieve their dog. The dog made it to shore, but the two men were pulled downstream and ultimately drowned. Water levels also flooded a portion of Sluice Boxes State Park's entrance parking lot as well as fields and yards from Sluice Boxes northward to Armington. A house in Neihart was flooded near the area were O'Brien Creek enters Belt Creek.

Wider weather episode

Spring rains across the area resulted in additional high elevation snowmelt which led to elevated water levels along many creeks and streams. Belt Creek flooded for a second time this month. Water levels crested at 6.78 feet at the river gauge along Belt Creek near Monarch. Water briefly impacted Sluice Boxes State Park's entrance parking lot and flooded primarily fields and driveways from Sluice Boxes northward to near Armington. Two men visiting Sluice Boxes State Park were impacted by the fast moving water current associated with the high water levels and ultimately drown. Water levels were high all the way from near Belt to near Neihart.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.3767, -110.9209)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1102212. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.