Milk River near Harlem, MT

The last 7 days and the forecast

NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 5 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.

Flood stages

What floods at each level

From the National Weather Service, highest first.

• 25.5 ftFlooding of homes in Harlem and Chinook.
• 24 ftPossible flooding of homes and streets in harlem and chinook.Notes: In April 2018, the Chinook water plant was surrounded by water. The water was stopped on the south/west side of the city of Chinook by the roads. Harlem was near 24 feet at the time. Fort Belknap had flooding eventually. Roads/homes were impacted. Harlem had all the flooding from 30 Mile Creek.
• 23 ftEscape routes for livestock may be cut off.
• 22.5 ftFlooding of approximately 4,000 acres of irrigation land.
• 22 ftFlooding of culverts and some county bridges. 2,000 acres of irrigated land flooded.
• 21 ftAt 21 Feet...the Milk River near Harlem is bankfull. Some minor problems can occur near/along the river from Chinook to east of Harlem. Impacts start to go up quickly as the stage goes above 21 feet. (March 2017)Notes: In April 2018, river at Harlem was 24 feet, and the flooding came from 30 Mile Creek.

Highest crests on record

1. 25.73 ft — September 29, 1986
2. 25.61 ft — March 11, 1987
3. 24.46 ft — April 22, 2018
4. 24.08 ft — March 28, 1978
5. 23.88 ft — March 18, 1996

Recent crests: 23.8 ft (April 12, 2023) · 24.46 ft (April 22, 2018) · 11.19 ft (May 28, 2012) · 23.46 ft (June 11, 2011) · 20.34 ft (June 26, 2010)

Up and down the river, and nearby

• UpstreamMilk River at Havre, MT
• DownstreamMilk River near Dodson, MT
• Peoples Creek near Hays, MT
• Battle Creek (North-central MT) near Chinook, MT
• Clear Creek (North-central MT) near Chinook near mouth, MT
• Milk River at Malta, MT
• Big Sandy Creek (MT) near Havre, MT
• Beaver Creek (MT) near Saco, MT