Torrential rains swell rivers, streams on east side
<p>Vehicles head down snowy Marias Pass near Skyland Road on U.S. 2 on Tuesday. The National Weather Service is predicting 15 to 20 inches of snow above 7,000 feet and possible flooding in the valleys. (Chris Peterson/Hungry Horse News.</p>
Minor flooding has begun on the east side of Glacier National Park, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather agency issued a flood warning Tuesday afternoon for Glacier and Pondera counties. The warning is in effect until Thursday afternoon.
Divide Creek was running over Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park, according to the Weather Service.
The St. Mary River passed its flood stage of 7.5 feet at 9 p.m. Tuesday and reached 8 feet Wednesday morning. The Weather Service said the river could rise further with additional heavy rain Wednesday.
“Widespread heavy rains along the northern Rocky Mountain Front and in Glacier National Park are causing many streams to rise out of their banks,” the Weather Service reported. “There have also been several reports of debris flows on hillsides.”
Many Glacier received 3.9 inches of rain, St. Mary 3.55 inches and Goat Haunt 4.64 inches on Tuesday — and more was on the way. Additional rainfall of 3 to 6 inches is possible.
Other waterways expected to rise out of their banks include Cut Bank Creek, Badger Creek and Swiftcurrent Creek.
“This is a very dangerous situation. Widespread flooding and numerous mud slides or debris slides should be expected,” the Weather Service said.
A front-desk clerk at St. Mary Lodge said the staff was able to check in 19 arrivals on Tuesday, but some expected guests had opted to stay at Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier because Montana 49, the most direct route to the lodge from U.S. 2, was closed because of water and rocks on the road.
Divide Creek wasn’t overflowing in the St. Mary Lodge area as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the hotel clerk said, though it was still raining “nonstop.”
St. Mary Lodge was at about 35 percent occupancy, and guests were “hunkered down” waiting out the deluge of rain.
At Many Glacier Hotel, snowfall replaced heavy rain late Tuesday.
“All the guests have gotten here,” a Many Glacier Hotel clerk said. “We’re very close to full. We’ve got a lot of people around the fire in the lobby.”
Guests hadn’t encountered any travel problems as of Tuesday evening, she said, adding that Swiftcurrent Creek hadn’t yet overflowed its banks in the hotel area.
Elsewhere in Montana, blowing and drifting snow forced transportation officials to close Beartooth Pass near the Wyoming-Montana border.
Ginny Bingaman, a receptionist with the Montana Department of Transportation, said U.S. 212 between the Vista Point rest area in Montana and Long Lake in Wyoming was closed just before 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Crews were plowing the snow Tuesday, but the highway is not expected to open until at least this morning.