Rivers reach peak flows

Northwest Montana rivers reached peak flows by midafternoon Tuesday, but flood flows are expected to drop as the week progresses.

While the North Fork, Middle Fork and main Flathead River all exceeded flood stage, there were no reports of significant problems, according to Cindy Mullaney, deputy director of Flathead County’s Office of Emergency Services.

If rivers are flooding low-lying areas, “it’s not a big problem,” Mullaney said, citing the lack of any flood-related reports to county dispatchers, Mullaney said,.

Oliver Meister, owner of the North Fork Hostel at Polebridge, said high water from the North Fork inundated the area around the hostel starting Monday, but that’s a relatively common spring event.

“I’m doing fine. It’s island living. It’s kind of fun having ducks and geese in your front yard,” he said with a chuckle.

Meister said he canoed around the yard and out to the nearby road to pick up his mail.

But Meister was calm about his situation because he has been keeping a close eye on the National Weather Service’s hydrograph for the North Fork, which showed the river barely exceeding its 10.5-foot flood stage at the Canadian border early Tuesday.

The river already had dropped below flood stage later in the day.

The Middle Fork exceeded its 10-foot flood stage by nearly a foot and the main-stem river as measured at Columbia Falls exceeded its 13-foot flood stage by almost a foot and half by midafternoon Tuesday.

Both rivers were projected to start dropping Tuesday night and be well below flood stage by tonight.

Cooler weather this week in Northwest Montana is a key contributor to a slowing of snowmelt and therefore lower river levels.