Flood waters are receding in some parts of northwest Montana. Snowmelt, however, continues to create problems in other areas.
Over 6 inches of rain fell north of Coram earlier this week. That temporarily closed a handful Columbia Falls-area roads. Flathead County emergency planner, Jessica McDonald, says Tuesday’s high water threatened between 25 and 50 local homes.
"We were monitoring the homes and making sure that people knew any type of resources that they could use. We didn’t declare any type of emergencies."
Those flood waters are now receding. Several feet of fresh snow, meanwhile, accumulated in some northwest Montana mountain ranges this week. It’s starting to melt and causing problems on the Flathead National Forest. Soft, rain-saturated road surfaces have prompted several road closures in the Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger Districts.
Going-to-the-Sun Road on the west side of Glacier National Park is open to vehicle traffic only to the foot of Lake McDonald due to localized flooding.
Scattered showers and cool temperatures are likely through the holiday weekend. The National Weather Service says that may create more runoff problems.