Flooding and Heavy Rain in Montana, June 15 to 19, 2014

Name: Flooding and Heavy Rain in Montana, June 15 to 19, 2014
Start: 2014-06-15T15:00
End: 2014-06-19T13:30
Location: Montana

June 15 to 19, 2014 · NWS TFX · 15 events in 4 counties and zones

A potent low pressure system moved across the Pacific Northwest bringing a period of widespread precipitation and below average temperatures. Rain was seen over the lower elevations with snow in some of the higher terrain.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 15

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.

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 15, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT Sun Jun 15 2014

.DISCUSSION...
Tonight through Monday morning...Increasing diffluent southwest
flow aloft tonight ahead of an upper trof approaching western
Montana. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will develop
along the Rocky Mountain Front and over southwest Montana and then
spread north and east overnight. CAPE and bulk shear values
indicate storms will likely remain below severe criteria. The
airmass will remain unstable overnight with isolated showers
continuing Monday morning before becoming widespread by afternoon.

Monday afternoon through Wednesday night...An upper low over
southeast Washington late Monday afternoon is expected to drift to
southwest Montana Tuesday night. Models are in reasonable agreement
on this track. Differences show up thereafter as the ECMWF model
intensifies the upper low as it moves into north central Montana
Wednesday afternoon and into southwest Saskatchewan by Thursday
morning. On the other hand the GFS model is weaker and quite a bit
farther south than the ECMWF model. The GEM (Canadian) model is kind
of like the GFS for Wednesday afternoon but then becomes more like
the ECMWF model by Thursday morning. Monday afternoon still expect
showers and a few thunderstorms to develop. This activity will then
spread north ahead of a weather disturbance aloft Monday night and
have increased precipitation totals from the inherited forecast. A
band of rain should affect areas near the Canadian border Tuesday
morning. Otherwise expect weather disturbances aloft associated with
the upper low to affect the forecast area Tuesday through Wednesday.
Models are not in good agreement with the details of these
disturbances and their associated precipitation patterns. Did nudge
the forecast towards the ECMWF solution for Wednesday and Wednesday
night as have increased the chances of precipitation and also
rainfall over the eastern plains. As for snow...snow levels will be
lowering as the upper low moves into Montana. Snow levels are
expected to be between 7000 feet and 8000 feet over the Rocky
Mountain Front and between 7500 feet and 8500 feet over southwest
Montana. Some guidance does forecast snow levels about 1000 feet
lower than those mentioned. Above the snow levels for Monday night
through Tuesday could see up to a half-foot of snow in the southwest
with possibly more than that for the Glacier Park area. Blank

Thursday through Monday...Weak high pressure will build
Thursday and the air mass will warm and dry. Temperatures will
recover to near normals. Another low pressure trof will be over the
Eastern Pacific Thursday night and this system will move over the
West Coast by Friday afternoon. Instability will begin to develop
ahead of this system as heights begin to drop aloft and moisture
starts to move back into the region. The Northern Rockies will have
the best chance for thunderstorms but the entire region will become
unstable by Saturday. Another low pressure system will be seeping
over the Eastern Pacific and Central Montana will be between system
on Sunday. The area will still become weakly unstable and afternoon
showers or thunderstorms are still possible. The low pressure system
over the Eastern Pacific will move very slowly and Central Montana
will remain underneath southwest flow aloft. Good heating Monday,
and along with some increase in moisture, should cause another
period of unstable conditions and afternoon thunderstorms. At this
moment, winds aloft should be rather weak and organized/severe
thunderstorms are not expected. Zelzer

&&

.AVIATION...
UPDATED 1750Z.
The airmass will become unstable this afternoon ahead of an upper
level disturbance over the Pacific Northwest. Showers and isolated
thunderstorms will develop this afternoon and continue into the
evening. Showers will continue overnight as the disturbance aloft
approaches western Montana. VFR conditions prevail with MVFR
conditions possible, along with erratic surface winds, in the
vicinity of showers and/or thunderstorms.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GTF  44  62  44  58 /  30  70  70  60
CTB  42  60  42  52 /  30  50  90  90
HLN  46  64  45  61 /  30  70  70  60
BZN  43  62  42  59 /  30  70  70  60
WEY  32  58  32  54 /  20  60  70  60
DLN  41  59  39  55 /  40  70  70  70
HVR  44  68  46  63 /  20  50  90  80
LWT  43  62  43  59 /  30  50  70  60

&&

.TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

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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

13 heavy rain, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 15, 3:00 PM MST to June 17, 3:00 PM MST
Where: Glacier County, 13.17 mi SSW of Family
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 48.300, -112.850

Heavy rain of about 4.40 inches in 48 hours was reported.

Heavy Rain, Pondera

When: June 15, 5:00 PM MST to June 17, 5:00 PM MST
Where: Pondera County, 6.5 mi W of Brady
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 48.040, -111.970

Heavy rain of about 1.98 inches in 48 hours was reported.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 16, 10:00 AM MST to June 17, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Glacier County, 0.83 mi SSW of St Mary
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 48.740, -113.430

Heavy rain of about 1.76 inches in 24 hours was reported at the St Mary RAWS.

Heavy Rain, Pondera

When: June 16, 10:05 AM MST to June 17, 10:05 AM MST
Where: Pondera County, 0.83 mi NNW of Heart Butte
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 48.290, -112.840

Heavy rain of about 1.31 inches in 24 hours was reported at the Heart Butte RAWS.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 16, 10:21 AM MST to June 17, 10:21 AM MST
Where: Glacier County, 0.83 mi SSE of Browning
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 48.560, -113.010

Heavy rain of about 1.59 inches since midnight was reported at the Browning RAWS.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 16, 2:15 PM MST to June 17, 2:15 PM MST
Where: Glacier County, 0.83 mi SSW of St Mary
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 48.740, -113.430

Heavy rain of about 2.70 inches in 24 hours was reported at the St Mary RAWS. Rock and mud slides along Highway 49 south of Saint Mary.

Heavy Rain, Cascade

When: June 16, 2:15 PM MST to June 18, 2:15 PM MST
Where: Cascade County, 1.46 mi SSE of Great Falls
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 47.500, -111.290

Heavy rain of about 1.20 inches in 48 hours was reported.

Heavy Rain, Beaverhead

When: June 16, 5:00 PM MST to June 17, 5:00 PM MST
Where: Beaverhead County, 1.61 mi ENE of Glen
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.480, -112.690

Heavy rain of about 1.1 inches in 24 hours was reported.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 17, 12:00 AM MST to 8:00 AM MST
Where: Glacier County, 0.83 mi NNW of Babb
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.860, -113.440

Heavy rain of about 1.5 inches since midnight was reported.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 17, 12:00 AM MST to 10:36 AM MST
Where: Glacier County, 0.83 mi NNW of Babb
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.860, -113.440

Heavy rain of about 2.25 inches since midnight was reported.

Heavy Rain, Glacier

When: June 17, 12:00 AM MST to 6:40 PM MST
Where: Glacier County, 0.83 mi NNW of Babb
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.860, -113.440

Heavy rain of about 4.25 inches since midnight was reported. Elevation 4500 ft.

Heavy Rain, Cascade

When: June 17, 3:55 PM MST to June 18, 3:55 PM MST
Where: Cascade County, 1.46 mi SSE of Great Falls
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.500, -111.290

Heavy rain of about 0.7 inches in 24 hours was reported in the Fox Farm area.

Heavy Rain, Cascade

When: June 18, 11:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Cascade County, 7.88 mi NW of Eden
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.350, -111.390

Heavy rain of about 0.47 inches in 6 hours was reported.

Flood, Pondera

When: June 18, 1:30 PM MST to June 19, 1:30 PM MST
Where: Pondera County, 6.9 mi NE of Valier to 6.8 mi NNE of Valier
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 48.371, -112.144

Emergency manager reported Spring Creek Road was washed out and had water running over it.

Flood, Glacier

When: June 18, 6:30 PM MST to June 19, 12:30 AM MST
Where: Glacier County, 3.57 mi SSW of Del Bonita to 3.48 mi S of Del Bonita
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 48.920, -112.770

A couple feet of water was reported over Highway 213 near Del Bonita, MT.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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

Every storm in Montana in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, June 2014

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: 523284, 523286, 523278, 523279, 523280, 523283, 523293, 523285, 523276, 523281, 523288, 523294, 523296, 523291, 523302.