Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of March 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS.

Experimental National Water Center Products: The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, and Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations, as described in the StoryMap here.

Weather Forecast Office Missoula, MT

Northwest River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

Download

Inundation Mapping

Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Not Available Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Not Available Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

Auto Refresh: OFF

Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (MDT) Datum: Not Available Metadata

NOTE: Flood watches/warnings are not issued when the river gage is at 13 ft until Flathead Lake exceeds an elevation of 2892 ft or the river gage exceeds 14 ft regardless of Flathead Lake levels. NOTE: Forecasts for the Flathead River at Columbia Falls are issued routinely year-round.

Default Hydrograph Scale to Flood Categories   Return to Area Map

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 22 Moderate Flood Stage: 18 Flood Stage: 13 Action Stage: 12.5 Low Stage (in feet): -9999 Historic Crests (1) 25.58 ft on 06/09/1964 (2) 22.70 ft on 06/01/1894 (3) 19.08 ft on 05/23/1948 (4) 18.71 ft on 05/27/1928 (5) 17.63 ft on 06/16/1933 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 13.88 ft on 05/09/2018 (2) 13.43 ft on 06/01/2017 (3) 13.88 ft on 05/24/2014 (4) 14.43 ft on 05/14/2013 (5) 14.18 ft on 06/27/2012 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) 0.08 ft on 12/08/1929 (2) 0.70 ft on 03/02/1927

Zoom Level:16 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

If you notice any errors in the below information, please contact our Webmaster
22	Flooding in Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Creston and Foy's Bend causing isolation of many homes within the valley. Many secondary roads are impassable and closures of Highway 93 are expected.
18	Flooding of low lying areas in Columbia Falls including many buildings and secondary roads. There is also possible flooding along Highway 93 between Kalispell and Sommers.
16.1	A trailer and RV park located just north of Highway 35 in Evergreen may be flooded.
16	Low lying buildings and roads in the vicinity of Kalispell, Creston, Columbia Falls and Foy's Bend begin flooding.
14	Flooding of farmers crops adjacent to the Flathead River is likely. Sections of the Steel Bridge Road become inundated with water and impassable.
13	Farmers crops adjacent to the Flathead River are inundated with water.

About This Location

Latitude: 48.361944° N, Longitude: 114.183889° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD83/WGS84 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 13 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 Not Available Not Available Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 2977.669921875 ft 2991.669921875 ft Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other Not Available Not Available   Current/Historical Observations: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data and Site Info for Columbia Falls

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary Northwest River Forecast Center Inundation Mapping Locations

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management USGS - Montana Office USGS - Idaho Office NRCS - National Water and Clilmate Center Montana Drought Monitoring National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center NOAA's Drought Information Center Snow Information Flood Insurance

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Missoula Weather Forecast Office 6633 Aviation Way Missoula, MT 59808 (406) 329-4840 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:28 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities