2022 Montana floods
The 2022 Montana floods, which began on June 4, were triggered by a combination of heavy rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in widespread devastation across several counties. Notably affected regions included Carbon, Park, Sweet Grass, Stillwater, and Yellowstone counties, as well as parts of Wyoming. The Yellowstone River rose to its highest levels in nearly a century, dramatically impacting local infrastructure, including homes, roads, and bridges, and leading to the temporary closure of Yellowstone National Park. In the town of Red Lodge, evacuations were necessary as flooding caused significant losses of power and access to clean water, while other communities, such as Gardiner and Livingston, faced isolation due to washed-out roadways. Although no fatalities were reported, the floods severely disrupted local economies, particularly in tourism-dependent areas like Red Lodge, which experienced substantial financial losses. On June 30, 2022, FEMA announced disaster assistance for those affected, highlighting the extensive need for recovery and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the disaster. The 2022 floods, while not the deadliest in Montana's history, underscored the state's vulnerability to flooding and the ongoing impact of severe weather events.
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2022 Montana floods
The 2022 Montana floods resulted from heavy rain and melted snow beginning on June 4. The flooding in the wilderness regions of Absarokas and Beartooths was unprecedented. Many of the area’s rivers and streams flooded, severely damaging or destroying homes, roads, and bridges. The Yellowstone River rose to its highest levels in nearly a century, and the flood waters traveled to Billings, Montana, the state’s largest city. The flooding affected multiple roadways throughout Yellowstone National Park, causing officials to temporarily close the park.
Brief History
Montana is prone various types of flooding, including flash flooding, river flooding, burn scars/debris flows, ice/debris jams, snowmelt, dry wash, and dam breaks/levee failure. From June 10 through June 13, 2022, multiple counties in Montana were hit by a combination of least 4 to 9 inches (10 to 29 centimeters) of rain and snowmelt. Montana’s Carbon, Park, Sweet Grass, Stillwater, and Yellowstone counties, along with Wyoming’s Sheridan County, were all impacted. While the 2022 Montana floods are not the most destructive or deadliest in the state’s history, they were devasting to the affected regions.
Montana has had major flooding in the past. In 1908, flooding resulted in severe property loss due to high water in various streams from June 3 to 6, with the worst flooding in the southwest portion of the state. The flooding was a result of high rainfall combined with rapidly melting snow in the high mountains. The greatest damage was to railroad property; the main line of the Northern Pacific was damaged in various places, and the entire roadbed was destroyed along a considerable distance. The city of Butte went without streetcar service or electric lights for 25 hours. Wagon roads and bridges also suffered considerable damage, causing farmers to suffer stock and crop loss. Several drowning deaths were reported near Great Falls. The event also left a lasting impact on the community of Milltown because flooding at the nearby Clark’s Dam left 6.6 cubic yards (5.5 cubic meters) of mine waste in the sediment behind the dam. This waste contained heavy metals and arsenic, which contaminated the headwaters of Silver Bow Creek and poisoned the aquifer used by Milltown residents. The area was designated as a Superfund site in 1983. This is a polluted area requiring long-term cleanup and restoration.
Montana’s 1964 flood was one of the most devastating in the state’s history. Between June 7 and 12, the Marias River near Shelby rose to historic levels after more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rainfall in 36 hours was recorded in several areas in the Glacier Park area where the Triple Point of the Upper Columbia, Missouri, and Hudson Bay drainages meet. The flood was marked by the failure of several dams, which resulted in the loss of thirty-two lives. Additionally, property losses exceeded sixty-two-million dollars.
Other significant floods in Montana’s history took place in 1948, 1978, and 2011. The floods of 1948 most significantly affected the Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Flathead, and Kootenai Valleys, causing considerable damage, including 28,000 acres (11,000 hectares) of farmland. Flooding in 1978 caused more than thirty-three-million dollar in damage to residences, roads, bridges, croplands, and buildings. The 2011 floods were significant for their breadth, occurring in all corners of the state at some point during the winter, spring, or summer.
Impact of 2022 Floods
Montana’s 2022 floods were a result of 0.8 to more than 5 inches (2 to more than 12.7 centimeters) of rainfall combined with 2 to 5 inches (5 to 12.7 centimeters) of snow-water melt from June 10 to 13 and affected several counties. In Carbon County, significant flooding in Rock Creek necessitated evacuations in the town of Red Lodge, where some bridges and roads were lost to the floodwaters. Many residents lost power and town water was temporarily shut off.
Park County flooding occurred along the Yellowstone River and other smaller creeks. The flooding washed out bridges and roads, and left communities and homes isolated. For example, many people became landlocked in the communities of Gardiner, Cooke City, Silver Gate, the Cinnabar Basin, Tom Miner Basin, stretches of US Highway 89 South, Mill Creek, and Old Yellowstone Trail. Some sections of the community of Livingston were evacuated.
Stillwater County saw the collapse of Nye Road at the Stillwater Mine, and the bridge to the mine’s secondary complex became severely damaged and impassable as well. A rescue mission was needed for a nearby campground because of flooding on Nye Road. Sixty-eight people were rescued and transported to safety by raft. Evacuations were ordered for parts of the county, and many people voluntarily evacuated as well.
Yellowstone National Park was also affected by the flooding, with officials closing the north and northeast entrances. Multiple sections of road within the park were flooded or covered in mud or rocks. The water in the Yellowstone River hit its highest level in almost one hundred years as flooding moved from Yellowstone National Park to Billings, the state’s largest city, in Yellowstone County. The city of about 110,000 residents closed its water plant for a day when water hit 16 feet (4.9 meters) in the Yellowstone River. The flooding in Billings affected many nearby farms and ranches.
Though no lives were lost, the floods left a significant impact across the affected areas. On June 30, 2022, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) released a notice of disaster assistance for individuals and households affected by the flooding. This was in addition to a previous notice of available assistance to communities for damaged public infrastructure and emergency response costs.
Flooding also occurred in the state’s tourism sector. Red Lodge Mayor Kristen Cogswell stated that the flooding disrupted the small town’s tourism industry, which accounts for the bulk of its economic revenue, with one restaurant owner losing one-hundred-thousand dollars in two weeks because of flooding.
Bibliography
“Additional Disaster Assistance Approved for Montana Flooding.” FEMA, 30 June 2022, www.fema.gov/press-release/20220714/additional-disaster-assistance-approved-montana-flooding-0/. Accessed 20 July 2022.
Brown, Matthew, and Whitehurst, Lindsay. “How a Montana Community Is Faring after Devastating Floods Hit the Area Last Month.” 9 News, 15 June 2022, www.9news.com/article/news/nation-world/yellowstone-floods/507-9e2802b6-46df-4e22-9b8a-a2fbe0167f61. Accessed 20 July 2022.
“Flooding in Montana.” National Weather Service, www.weather.gov/safety/flood-states-mt. Accessed 20 July 2022.
“Historic Floods in Montana Severely Damaged or Destroyed 115 Homes, U.S.” The Watchers, 2022, watchers.news/2022/06/24/historic-floods-in-montana-severely-damaged-or-destroyed-115-homes-u-s/. Accessed 20 July 2022.
Hubbard, Halisia. “How a Montana Community Is Faring after Devastating Floods Hit the Area Last Month.” NPR, 12 July 2022, www.npr.org/2022/07/12/1109927959/yellowstone-flood-red-lodge-montana. Accessed 20 July 2022.
“June 2022 Unprecedented Flooding in South-Central Montana.” National Weather Service, 2022, www.weather.gov/byz/June-2022-Unprecedented-Flooding. Accessed 20 July 2022.
Smith, Griffen. “2022 Likely to Join Montana’s Worst Floods.” Longview News Journal, 19 June 2022, www.news-journal.com/2022-likely-to-join-montana-s-worst-floods/article‗788fbd83-5c40-5c8c-8348-34e782fe9b7e.html. Accessed 20 July 2022.