Flathead River hits minor flood stage

Rivers in Northwest Montana are running full, but meteorologists say major flooding shouldn’t be of much concern for the next week or two.

The Flathead River at Columbia Falls hit minor flood stage earlier this week, but the river is expected to lower over the weekend as rain tapers off and temperatures cool.

According to the National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, the Flathead River topped out at 13.86 feet Wednesday afternoon. Flood stage is at 13 feet. The river has been fluctuating between 13 and 14 feet since then. It is expected to dip below flood stage Saturday evening.

“The Flathead River keeps going up and down, but the Hungry Horse Dam is able regulate it to keep it below flood stage,” said meteorologist Luke Robinson at the National Weather Service in Missoula.

According to the Weather Service, the Flathead will gradually eclipse minor flood stage again beginning Monday, with a peak at 13.88 feet on Thursday.

Flood watches and warnings are not issued when the river gage is at 13 feet until Flathead Lake exceeds an elevation of 2,892 feet or the river gage exceeds 14 feet regardless of Flathead Lake levels, the Weather Service notes.

The lake elevation was at 2,890 feet on Friday.

Energy Keepers, the group that maintains the SKQ Dam in Polson, said Friday that Flathead Lake is currently being managed to the lowest elevation possible, “given the natural restriction in the river channel downstream of the lake outlet in Polson.”

“Flathead Lake will continue to rise on high stream flows and the natural restriction.”

Outflows are expected to increase to nearly 50,000 cfs over the coming week.

“Flathead Lake will be full on time and as planned for recreation this summer,” according to Energy Keepers.

Other rivers in Northwest Montana are running high, but below major flood stage as well.

“The North Fork and Middle Fork are below flood stage and we don’t see it getting to flood stage in the next week,” Robinson said.

The Stillwater River at Lawrence Park in Kalispell hit “action stage” Friday, with the river at 7.14 feet. Minor flood stage is 7.5 feet. The Stillwater is expected to stay at about 7 feet through the week, according to the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.

The Swan River at Bigfork was flowing at 6 feet, below the 6.5-foot flood stage. The river is expected to hover around minor flood stage all week.

The Whitefish River near Kalispell was at 7 feet Friday, below the 8-foot flood stage.

Robinson said there is some concern about small mountain streams spilling out of their banks, especially in Glacier Park, but for the most part Northwest Montana will continue to avoid any significant flooding for now.

“[Northwest Montana] hasn’t really lost the snow-melt like [West-Central Montana,]” Robinson said. “But I would keep an eye on it. In the next two or three weeks we could see some issues.”

Plenty of snow remains in the mountains around Northwest Montana. Noisy Basin in the Swan Mountains near Bigfork still holds 126 inches of settled snow with a snow water equivalent of 64.4 inches. The snow depth on Flattop Mountain in Glacier Park is 106 inches.

The Flathead Basin snowpack is still 128 percent of average.

Meanwhile, the Clark Fork River in Missoula was expected to crest Saturday at its highest level in 100 years, according to the National Weather Service.

Floodwaters already have inundated some houses and trailer homes in a low-lying neighborhood in Montana’s second-largest city.

Many residents of the more than 65 houses under evacuation orders refused to leave. That put both residents and emergency personnel in danger as debris surged downstream, including sheds, a propane tank and the remains of at least one broken apart trailer home, authorities said.

Occupants of about 800 Missoula houses were under warning that they may have to evacuate if conditions deteriorate.

Water also was pushing into residential areas downstream along the Clark Fork in the town of Frenchtown, where occupants of two houses were ordered to evacuate.

The river is expected to say at major flood level for at least a week, giving plenty of time for it to do more damage, said National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Lukinbeal.

Personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were monitoring area levees but they were not expected to be topped, Holtz said.

Floodwaters also threatened homes along the Blackfoot River near Lincoln and portions of Lewis and Clark, Jefferson and Broadwater counties.

In central Montana, the Musselshell River near the small town of Shawmut in Wheatland County was forecast to reach major flood stage Saturday. The county sheriff’s office advised people not to drive through flooded areas.

Rain was in the forecast Friday afternoon with showers possible through the weekend across much of the state. Most of the floodwater is coming from the rapidly melting snowpack in the mountains.

— The Associated Press contributed to the report