Rivers run high for Fourth of July

While the threat of flooding has waned on most Western Montana rivers, that is not the case for the Flathead and Swan rivers, which are expected to remain near or over flood stage possibly for the next two weeks.

The Flathead River at Columbia Falls rose nearly three feet Wednesday and Thursday to flows just shy of the river’s 14-foot flood stage. While the Flathead River has gone up and down over the last few weeks, it is expected to remain high with no significant declines over the next week at least.

“The Flathead River is going to be a big concern over the next week or maybe the next two weeks,” said Dan Zumpfe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Missoula.

That’s because there will be persistent high daytime temperatures in the 80s and night-time lows in the 40s throughout the week, accelerating high-elevation snowmelt above the Flathead Basin.

The Swan River downstream from Swan Lake has risen just a few inches shy of its 6.5- flood stage, and it is expected to remain high with no declines for the next couple of weeks.

“In the near term, the behavior of this river we are going to be monitoring closely,” Zumpfe said.

The Weather Service has issued flood watches for all of Flathead County and parts of Lake County, where there is a concern about runoff from the snow-loaded Mission Mountains.

At an elevation of about 6,300 feet, the Moss Peak automated snow gauge still measures 54 inches of water in the snowpack. The previous record for this time of year was 20 inches of water. The snow depth on Moss Peak is 96 inches.

High elevation snow gauges in the Swan Mountains and along the Continental Divide into Glacier National Park are showing similar high water contents.

Noisy Basin in the Swan Mountains, for example, has 86 inches of snow containing 44 inches of water. Flattop Mountain in Glacier National Park has identical snow and water numbers.

With the Mission Mountains, Zumpfe said there is concern that rapid runoff may cause Kicking Horse Reservoir and other reservoirs to overflow.

The Weather Service urges caution for people recreating near running water over the Fourth of July weekend.

Even on rivers that have subsided, such as the Blackfoot and the Bitterroot rivers, flows are still three times higher than average for this time of year and debris in the rivers also presents hazards for floaters, Zumpfe said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.