If this super soaker situation outside has you confused about what season we are in and which solstice we are approaching here in northwest Montana, you are not alone.
Usually when the rivers are rising to flood stage, as they are in the far northwest corner of the state, we are also enjoying twice as much daylight compared to today’s 8 hours and 38 minutes of illumination.
The Yaak River near Troy in Lincoln County has surpassed the minor flood stage benchmark and jumped to more than 8 feet this morning, doubling its volume in just three days.
In addition to the Yaak, the latest wave in a series of atmospheric rivers has caused flooding in small streams across Lincoln County, leading to rock and mudslides. The overflow has prompted Lincoln County Commissioners to declare a state of emergency and an Emergency Operations Center has been activated.
The American Red Cross has mobilized at the Libby Assembly of God at 105 Collins Avenue.
“We have some massive flooding,” Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short said. “We declared emergency travel this morning and we have at least two, maybe three bridges washed out.”
Short said bridges on Libby Creek and Granite Creek (pictured above) have washed out, prompting the closure of Farm to Market Road, in addition to one more on Keeler Creek near Troy.
Water has spilled out onto the roadways in Lincoln County, prompting Libby Public Schools to reroute buses while issuing a recommendation for parents to pick up their kids “as soon as possible due to increasing concerns related to flooding.” Transportation challenges, boil water orders and “other safety issues” have led to the cancellation of school tomorrow, according to school administrators.
Libby municipal officials announced the city is under a precautionary boil water order until further notice to protect public health during flood-related impacts to the water system. This means all water intended for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or washing dishes should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute before use.
According to an NWS public information statement issued yesterday afternoon, the Poorman Creek weather station in Lincoln County ranked No.1 in the state and measured 6.7 inches of precipitation during the previous 72 hours while Stahl Peak in the northern Whitefish Range received 4.1 inches during that timeframe.
In Flathead County, Flattop Mountain in Glacier National Park measured 3.4 inches of precipitation of while Noisy Basin in the Swan Range had 2.8 inches. There were 2.1 inches in Essex, 1.5 inches in Polebridge and 1.44 inches in Columbia Falls as of yesterday afternoon.
The moisture is currently filling Montana’s river basins, with the Flathead River Basin’s snow water equivalent (SWE) levels sitting at 137% of normal, the Kootenai River Basin measuring 100% and the Sun-Teton-Marias basin on the east side of the Continental Dive registering 101%. Meanwhile in southwest Montana, the Madison River Basin level is at 68%.
In other words, northwest Montana is waterlogged.
If this week’s manic moisture episode wasn’t enough, arctic air is expected to push over the Continental Divide around Glacier National Park tonight, dramatically dropping snow levels down to 2,000 feet from Essex to Marias Pass, potentially stretching to West Glacier, according to NWS. Bursts of up to 1 inch of snow per hour are possible along this stretch of U.S. Highway 2 along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, with 3 to 8 inches of snow and localized freezing rain into Saturday morning.
This afternoon, the Middle Fork (pictured above at the South Fork confluence) measured 6 feet on the streamflow gage, still well below the 10-foot flood stage, and is flowing at 12,500 cubic feet per second (cfs), well above the median flow of 751 cfs for Dec. 11.
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