weather

Major flooding in south central Montana has destroyed homes, roads and bridges. Reporter Nick Mott lives in Livingston, where the Yellowstone River crested around 11 p.m. last night. He describes what the town looks like today.

Severe storms across Montana over the weekend and into Monday forced some residents to evacuate and prompted a rare closure of all entrances to Yellowstone National Park.

A weather system is edging into western Montana that forecasters are calling “excessive rainfall.” A handful of flood watches are now posted for the region. Cooler, unsettled conditions are anticipated to last through the rest of June and impact fire season.

More water is expected to flow through Montana’s rivers than previously forecast. April’s precipitation provided a badly needed boost to the state’s snowpack.

Western Montana’s wildfire outlook is still uncertain. Forecasters are watching the precipitation, but say significant wildfires remain a risk in Montana this season.

Six to 10 inches of snow could fall Thursday night through Friday night in mountain passes in Cascade, Judith Basin, Jefferson, Meagher, and Lewis and Clark counties. Nearby counties along the Rocky Mountain Front and in Beaverhead, Madison and Gallatin counties could also see several inches of snow, mostly in areas above 5,000 feet.

Forecasters are predicting up to 12 inches of snow to fall in lower elevations, and up to 20 inches in the mountains starting Tuesday through early Wednesday. Unseasonably cold, below-freezing temperatures and gusty winds are expected through Thursday.

For the third consecutive month, precipitation was well below normal across most of Montana. Mountain snowpack is subpar across most of the state and time is running out to make up the difference.

Avalanche warnings are in effect until Tuesday for much western Montana.

Forecasters say some of the coldest temperatures of this winter may be recorded early next week with daytime highs maxing out only in the single digits.