Flood, Richland
- When
- March 20, 10:34 AM MST to March 22, 3:21 PM MST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Montana, March 20 to 22, 1997
Snow melt caused the Lone Tree Creek in Richland County to rise rapidly. The Lone Tree Creek empties into the Yellowstone River at Sidney.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GGW wrote it up.
Snow melt caused the Lone Tree Creek in Richland County to rise rapidly. The Lone Tree Creek empties into the Yellowstone River at Sidney. The Lone Tree rose 4 feet in three hours. Many bridges were damaged by ice on the river. While homes were not affected, a local feed lot was flooded and several head of cattle were drowned.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Washington, March 20, 1997
- Flooding in Montana, March 20 to 22, 1997
- Flooding in Montana, March 20, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 20, 1997
- High Wind in Montana, March 20, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 20 to 21, 1997
- Flood in Montana, March 20, 1997
- Heat in New Mexico, March 20 to 21, 1997
- Flood in Montana, March 20 to 21, 1997
- High Wind in Montana, March 20, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 20 to 21, 1997
More
Every storm in Montana in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, March 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5614304.