Name: Flash Flood in Montana, June 10 to 13, 2002
Start: 2002-06-10T06:00
End: 2002-06-13T16:00
Location: Montana

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 10, 1:45 AM MST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 10, 1:45 AM MST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
245 AM MDT MON JUN 10 2002

.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...UPPER LEVEL LOW CONTINUES TO
MOVE SLOWLY NORTHEAST TOWARDS CENTRAL MONTANA. EXPECT LIGHT TO
HEAVY RAIN ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH MIDDAY. MANY AREAS
COULD SEE ANOTHER 0.50 TO 1.00+ FROM 12AM THIS MORNING TO MID
AFTERNOON. THEREFORE WE WILL ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT AND ADJACENT PLAINS AND RE-EVALUATE THE
POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING LATER THIS MORNING. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO FALL
IN THE ROCKIES...MAINLY ABOVE 5000 FEET TODAY...SO WE WILL CONTINUE
THE WARNING UNTIL THIS EVENING...WITH ANOTHER FOOT OF SNOW POSSIBLE
TODAY. ANOTHER DAY OF RECORD COOL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES POSSIBLE...
ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH. STRONG NORTH WINDS CONTINUE TO BLOW ALONG
THE HI-LINE AS WELL. THE STORM SLOWLY EXITS THE AREA LATE TONIGHT AND
EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. EXPECT SHOWERS TO COME TO AN END TUESDAY
MORNING...BUT MAY REDEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON ON TUESDAY...AS A
WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVES SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT. BY WEDNESDAY...MAIN UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS SHOULD BE FAR ENOUGH
EAST AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE AREA...SO EXPECT DRY
CONDITIONS OVER THE NORTH...WITH ISOLATED INSTABILITY SHOWERS OVER
THE SOUTHWEST DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. EXPECT A NICE
WARMING TREND TO START ON WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE AREA AS WELL.

.EXTENDED...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...NO CHANGES. NEW EXTENDED
AVN HAS UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE AREA ON THURSDAY. RIDGE
IS TO CONTINUE TO BUILD OVER THE AREA FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...AS
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW STARTS TO DROP DOWN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST.
THIS SHOULD KEEP CWA MOSTLY DRY AND WARM. THERE IS STILL A CHANCE FOR
LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING BY SATURDAY OR
SUNDAY...BUT THE CHANCE IS TO LOW TO MENTION IN THE FORECAST AT THIS
TIME. BRUSDA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF RW 048/038 054/040 065 17+84
    BBBBB 044/075 046/078 048/080 048/080 048 21111111111
CTB RW 044/036 053/038 063 17+94
    BBBBB 044/073 045/076 046/077 046/074 046 21111111111
HLN RW 048/038 058/044 067 17973
    BBBBB 046/078 047/080 050/083 050/083 050 12211111111
BZN RW 047/037 060/042 066 17873
    BBBBB 040/076 042/078 044/081 044/081 044 12211111111
WEY RW 045/030 052/032 058 17862
    BBBBB 035/068 035/073 036/075 036/075 036 12211111111
DLN OW 044/034 058/042 062 17862
    BBBBB 043/075 043/078 044/081 044/081 044 12211111111
HVR RW 050/040 053/042 067 17+94
    BBBBB 048/076 050/080 050/081 050/081 050 21111111111
LWT RW 051/038 052/040 063 17+94
    BBBBB 042/072 043/077 045/080 045/080 045 21111111111=

.TFX...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING
       FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT ABOVE 5000 FEET...
    ...SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN AND WESTERN GLACIER
       COUNTY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
    ...FLOOD WARNING FOR MARIAS RIVER NEAR SHELBY IN TOOLE COUNTY
       (ZONE 44) THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
    ...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...ADJACENT PLAINS AND
       CASCADE COUNTY...

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Toole

When: June 10, 6:00 AM MST to June 13, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Toole County, Shelby
Reported by: AIRPLANE PILOT
Coordinates: 48.655, -111.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Marias River began to rise on June 5th, due to snow melt over southern Canada. A strong storm then moved over the area on June 10th. This storm brought between 3 and 5 inches of rain to the area. The Marias River flooded near the golf course, and remained out of its bank until June 13th. The river crested at 12.4 feet on June 11th.

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, June 2002

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: 5300629.