Not what it looked like this week
Up here in the northwest part of Montana we managed to slip through without getting snowed on this weekend and other than wind, the weather call turned out better than expected. If you happen to be on the Missouri you are probably wondering if you have been beamed back into April.
Like the rest of the big rivers in the west, waters are still high but, at least around here, they are moderating. The Flathead river has probably reached peak runoff and is headed down, that would be barring any extended monsoon type rains like we had this AM. I doubt if it’s really a legitimate fly fishing play yet, at least for trout. Ditto that for the lower Clark Fork. Check with Lakestream in Whitefish, I think they are also guiding on the Mo’ so if nothing else you could get a trip in down there.
The weather has been warmer than normal, dry and windy so today’s rain is welcome relief. NOAA has been pretty good on their extended forecasts (see below) so we might see a little relief from a warm and dry May.
MONTANA SNOTEL Snow Water Equivalent Update Graph
As of MONDAY: JUNE 8 , 2009
| Basin | Snow Water Equivalent Percent of Average |
| KOOTENAI RIVER BASIN |  53% |
| FLATHEAD RIVER BASIN |  88% |
| UPPER CLARK FORK RIVER BASIN |  120% |
| BITTERROOT RIVER BASIN | 57% |
| LOWER CLARK FORK RIVER BASIN | 74% |
| JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN |  103% |
| MADISON RIVER BASIN | 92% |
| GALLATIN RIVER BASIN | 104% |
| MISSOURI HEADWATERS | 99% |
| HEADWATERS MISSOURI MAINSTEM |  132% |
| SMITH, JUDITH, AND MUSSELSHELL RIVER BASINS | 124% |
| SUN, TETON AND MARIAS RIVER BASINS | 66% |
| MISSOURI MAINSTEM RIVER BASIN | 95% |
| ST MARY AND MILK RIVER BASINS | 72% |
| UPPER YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN | 93% |
| WIND RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 62% |
| SHOSHONE RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 70% |
| BIGHORN RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 66% |
| TONGUE RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 26% |
| POWDER RIVER BASIN (WYOMING) | 48% |
| LOWER YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN | 64% |
| Legend: | <70% |
70-90% |
91-110% |
111-130% |
>130% |
8-14 Day forecast from NOAA
