Flood in Montana, May 22 to 24, 2016

Name: Flood in Montana, May 22 to 24, 2016
Start: 2016-05-22T19:28
End: 2016-05-24T08:15
Location: Montana

May 22 to 24, 2016 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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: $35,000
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 MSO wrote it up.

A slow moving closed low pressure system tracked from Oregon north and east across northwest Montana into southern Alberta from May 21st to May 22nd. This system most likely tapped into Gulf of Mexico moisture that had been pooling up over the High Plains and dropped 4 to 6 inches of rainfall to the mountains near Columbia Falls and Glacier National Park. This heavy rainfall caused area lakes and streams to overflow and flood nearby roads and land surrounding a few homes. This event also contributed to the West Glacier cooperative observer at Glacier National Park to report a record high precipitation total of 6.40 for the month of May, with records going back to 1949.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 1:18 PM MST, 6 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 1:18 PM MST, 6 hours 10 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
218 PM MDT SUN MAY 22 2016

.DISCUSSION...Rain and high elevation snow continues to fall as
the low pressure rotates counter clockwise in southern Alberta
today. Some areas have received near record one and two day
rainfall records so far. As of 2 pm today Kalispell has received
1.34" of rain in less than 24 hours.

High elevation reporting sites are beginning to show snow
accumulations in the Glacier Region and accumulations will continue
through Monday. Rivers are also on the rise in northwest Montana.
The Yaak River is forecast to near action stage around noon
Monday. Flooding is not expected on any of the rivers but water
will be running high and fast for the next couple of days. The low
pressure system will be slow to move out of the region so high
precipitation chances will remain in northwest Montana through
early Tuesday and showers to be possible for the rest of north
central Idaho and western Montana.

The remainder of the week the region will be under a trough of low
pressure which will result in mainly afternoon and evening showers
and perhaps a few thunderstorms. Temperatures will climb back to
near normal close to 70.

MEMORIAL WEEKEND...Models continue to show another closed low
entering the pacific northwest into the Northern Rockies.
Confidence is increasing for this pattern change which will bring
wet conditions and cooler than normal temps. However specifics such
as amounts and how much cooler it may be are uncertain now as it
is pretty tough to get a good track on these upper level closed
lows 5-7 days out. So stay tuned for MEMORIAL WEEKEND weather
updates and forecast discussions.

&&

.AVIATION...A slow-moving low pressure system will continue to
drop steady rain over KGPI through Monday. Mountain obscurations
and low ceilings are expected under the steady rain with some
patchy fog potential for Monday morning. For KBTM, KSMN, and
KMSO, winds will be on increase this afternoon with some scattered
showers possible. The showers are expected to be mainly light, but
may produce brief visibility reductions this afternoon and
evening.

&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...Lake Wind Advisory until 9 PM MDT this evening Flathead/Mission
     Valleys.

     Winter Weather Advisory until noon MDT Monday ABOVE 5500 FEET
     for the West Glacier Region.

ID...None.
&&

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 4:23 PM MST, 3 hours 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
523 PM MDT SUN MAY 22 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0522 PM     HEAVY RAIN       COLUMBIA FALLS          48.37N 114.18W
05/22/2016  M2.16 INCH       FLATHEAD           MT   PUBLIC

            24 HOUR RAINFALL

&&

NWS MISSOULA MT
IRIS SYSTEM

Local storm report, May 22, 5:51 PM MST, 1 hour 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
651 PM MDT SUN MAY 22 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0630 PM     HEAVY RAIN       2 WNW KALISPELL         48.21N 114.35W
05/22/2016  M3.50 INCH       FLATHEAD           MT   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HEAVY RAIN DURATION 26 HOURS 30 MINUTES.

&&

NWS MISSOULA MT
IRIS SYSTEM

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, Flathead

When: May 22, 7:28 PM MST to May 24, 8:15 AM MST
Where: Flathead County, Columbia Falls to 8.8 mi NNE of Whitefish
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $35,000
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 48.370, -114.180

Between 4 to 6 inches of rain fell within 24 hours causing Spoon and Duck lakes to spill out onto Lake Drive and North Fork Road, and ending up near the Blankenship Road intersection as culverts were unable to handle the extra runoff. Rabe Road also experienced flooding from water originating from the Tea Kettle Mountain area. A private sensor located east-northeast of the Tea Kettle North Mountain or about 3 miles northwest of Coram, measured 6.29 inches of rainfall. The flooding closed North Fork Rd and Rabe Rd which impacted 25 to 30 residents. At least fifteen structures including basements and shop garages were flooded. One unfinished garage saw water that rose to near the ceiling. A fire chief with the Blankenship Fire Department who lives just off of North Fork Road outside of Columbia Falls reported that over three thousand gallons of water flooded his finished basement during this event. On May 23rd, more intense rain developed just north of Columbia Falls resulting in Trumble Creek coming out of its banks. This placed water around seven homes, but did not cause much damage or prevent residents from access. Glacier National Park closed the Going-to-the-Sun-Road at the Apgar Loop Junction due to a culvert washout in the afternoon of May 23rd. Another reason why the culvert was overwhelmed was due to beaver dams breaking up higher in the drainage. At least two portions of the Forest Service road 895 past the Hungry Horse Dam were washed out on May 23rd including Beta Creek. Forest service road 316 from the 6.3 mile marker on North Fork Road to the Canyon Creek area also experienced several washouts.

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

Every storm in Montana in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, May 2016

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: 634479.