Montana, 2009

Flood in Montana, January 8, 2009

January 8, 2009 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Warm temperatures contributed to ice jam flooding of the Ruby River. Low land flooding of pasture land and a few outbuildings was reported.

Where it happened

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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 TFX wrote it up.

Warm temperatures contributed to ice jam flooding of the Ruby River. Low land flooding of pasture land and a few outbuildings was reported.

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 Jan 7, 4:45 PM MST, 22 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 4:45 PM MST, 22 hours 15 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Madison

When
January 8, 3:00 PM MST
Where
Madison County, 1 mi SE of Twin Bridges to 0.5 mi NE of Twin Bridges
Cause
Ice Jam
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
45.520, -112.315

An ice jam on the Ruby River just south of Twin Bridges (upstream of the Seyler Lane Bridge) caused minor flooding of low-lying areas. Pasture land and a few outbuildings were affected.

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 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2009

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 149839.