Montana river flood stages
National Weather Service flood categories for 26 of 38 Montana gauges on Flowcast, with NWS's latest observed stage. NWS defines flood stage (minor flooding) at 26 of them. No gauge is at action stage or higher in NWS's latest observations (4 with a current observation).
Updated Nov 4, 9:17 AM PST · USGS data, provisional
| River gauge | Action stage | Minor flood stage | Moderate flood stage | Major flood stage | NWS latest stage | NWS category now | Distance to next category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stillwater River near Absarokee NWS SRAM8 | – | 7.5 ft | 8 ft | 9 ft | 1.59 ft Nov 4, 8:15 AM PST | No flooding | 5.91 ft below minor flood stage |
| Yellowstone River at Billings NWS BILM8 | 12.5 ft | 13.5 ft | 14.5 ft | 15 ft | 3.08 ft Nov 4, 8:00 AM PST | No flooding | 9.42 ft below action stage |
| Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs NWS CORM8 | – | 11 ft | 12 ft | 13 ft | 1.23 ft Nov 4, 8:00 AM PST | No flooding | 9.77 ft below minor flood stage |
| Yellowstone River near Livingston NWS LIVM8 | – | 10 ft | 10.5 ft | 11 ft | -0.11 ft Nov 4, 7:00 AM PST | No flooding | 10.11 ft below minor flood stage |
| Beaverhead River near Twin Bridges NWS TWNM8 | 6 ft 945 cfs | 7 ft 1,305 cfs | 8 ft 3,485 cfs | 9 ft | not current | – | – |
| Big Hole River near Melrose NWS MLRM8 | 5 ft 5,209 cfs | 6 ft 7,439 cfs | 7.5 ft 11,539 cfs | 8 ft 13,181 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Bitterroot River near Darby NWS DARM8 | 7 ft | 7.5 ft | – | – | not current | – | – |
| Bitterroot River near Missoula NWS BITM8 | 10 ft | 11 ft | 13 ft | 15 ft | not current | – | – |
| Blackfoot River near Bonner NWS BONM8 | 9.5 ft | 10 ft | 16 ft | 17 ft | not current | – | – |
| Clark Fork above Missoula NWS ABOM8 | 7 ft | 7.5 ft | 11 ft | 13 ft | not current | – | – |
| Clark Fork below Missoula NWS BELM8 | 10.5 ft | 11 ft | 12 ft | 13 ft | not current | – | – |
| Clark Fork near Plains NWS PLNM8 | 15 ft 90,000 cfs | 16 ft | 18 ft | 19.5 ft | not current | – | – |
| Flathead River at Columbia Falls NWS CFMM8 | 12.5 ft | 13 ft | 18 ft | 22 ft | not current | – | – |
| Gallatin River at Logan NWS LOGM8 | 8 ft 4,717 cfs | 9 ft 6,907 cfs | 10 ft 9,388 cfs | 11 ft 12,611 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway NWS GLGM8 | 5 ft 4,846 cfs | 6 ft 6,886 cfs | 7 ft 9,726 cfs | 7.5 ft 11,200 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Jefferson River near Three Forks NWS TFKM8 | 7 ft 8,570 cfs | 8 ft 12,288 cfs | 8.5 ft 14,622 cfs | 9 ft 17,089 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Jefferson River near Twin Bridges NWS TWIM8 | 9 ft 11,200 cfs | 10 ft 13,700 cfs | 11 ft 16,000 cfs | 12 ft | not current | – | – |
| Kootenai River below Libby Dam, near Libby NWS KBDM8 | – | 27.5 ft 48,000 cfs | – | – | not current | – | – |
| Marias River near Shelby NWS SHLM8 | 8 ft 6,313 cfs | 9 ft 8,613 cfs | 13 ft 23,085 cfs | 15 ft 35,486 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Middle Fork Flathead River near West Glacier NWS WGCM8 | 9 ft | 10 ft | 14 ft | 18 ft | not current | – | – |
| Missouri River at Fort Benton NWS FBNM8 | 13 ft 73,480 cfs | 13.5 ft 78,243 cfs | 15 ft | 17 ft | not current | – | – |
| Missouri River at Toston NWS TOSM8 | 10 ft 22,012 cfs | 10.5 ft 24,293 cfs | 11 ft 26,813 cfs | 12 ft 32,614 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Rock Creek near Clinton NWS RCCM8 | 8.5 ft | 9 ft | 9.5 ft | 10 ft | not current | – | – |
| Sun River at Simms NWS SSRM8 | 6 ft 4,213 cfs | 7.5 ft 6,724 cfs | 8.5 ft 14,125 cfs | 10.5 ft 50,029 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Sun River near Vaughn NWS VAUM8 | 5 ft | 6 ft 7,979 cfs | 8 ft 13,850 cfs | 9 ft 17,150 cfs | not current | – | – |
| Yaak River near Troy NWS TRYM8 | 7.5 ft | 8 ft | 9 ft | 10 ft | not current | – | – |
Stages and categories are the National Weather Service's own (National Water Prediction Service gauge data), shown only for gauges whose NWS forecast point lists the same USGS gauge number. Stages are in feet on each point's own NWS datum, so compare a stage only with the categories in the same row. “Distance to next category” is NWS's next category stage minus NWS's latest observed stage; NWS observations older than 6 hours are not shown. Flood categories describe flooding impacts, not fishing or boating safety; low water can be dangerous too. Flowcast's Fishable/Floatable status is never based on them. All states.