Another round of snow expected Tuesday into Wednesday
Cars head down Marias Pass near Skyland Road on U.S. 2 as a spring snowstorm hits the pass on June 17, 2014 in this file photo. A similar storm is expected tomorrow.
The Flathead Valley will see heavy rain and another round of snow in the higher terrain Tuesday night into Wednesday. Places like Marias Pass will see about 8 inches of snow, while higher terrain in Glacier National Park could see upwards of a foot of snow.
Valley locations will see a cold rain, upwards of an inch, with highs in the 40s, National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Gibson said Monday.
The rain will make the Flathead River rise to about 12 feet by Thursday, which is still under flood stage.
Flood stage is about 14 feet on the mainstem when Flathead Lake isn’t at full pool and about 13 feet when the lake is at full pool, which usually comes about the end of May.
The Hungry Horse Reservoir is currently about 26 feet below full pool at 3,534.6 feet. Full pool is 3,560 feet. The target date for full pool is July 4.
The Flathead Basin snowpack is still about 123 percent of average, though SNOTEL sites below 5,000 feet have melted out.
Higher elevation ones still have a lot of snow. The West Flattop SNOTEL has 52.7 inches of snow water equivalent, which is 127 percent of average.
Despite the high snowpack, the region would still need warm weather and heavy rains to see significant flooding, Gibson noted.