Flood, Central and Se Phillips
- When
- March 23, 11:00 AM MST to April 9, 7:30 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Montana, March 23 to April 9, 1997
After a winter of record cold and record snowfall, spring weather caused rapid snow melt and runoff. The Milk River Valley saw its worst flooding in twenty years.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 2
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.
After a winter of record cold and record snowfall, spring weather caused rapid snow melt and runoff. The Milk River Valley saw its worst flooding in twenty years. Several homes were evacuated in the Glasgow area and many of these homes were flooded.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Central and Southern Valley
- When
- March 23, 11:00 AM MST to April 9, 7:30 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
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: 5614308, 5614309.