Rapid Flow! Perfect Example of Recent Montana Wild Weather Swings

The heavy snow. The bitter cold. The fierce winds. The far above normal temperatures. Just another day in Montana?

Well, not quite. But crazy weather swings in short periods of time are not unusual in Big Sky Country. And some friends in the northeast part of the state shared some of their dealings this month, from frigid to frantic runoff.

Tami Burke with Burke Ranch Outfitters based in Glasgow, Montana, shared some notes and pictures of the wild weather week in the Milk River Valley. Tami tells us that in the past week, the Milk River Valley has experienced an extreme 100-degree temperature swing, and water is now flowing rapidly along the Hi-Line.

Tami says, "Water is always crucial, but this year, it’s even more vital following the loss of the St. Mary Diversion due to the St. Mary Siphon failure. Fortunately, the Malta Irrigation District has a unique system at Dodson Dam that allows them to inflate bladders (shown below) and divert water to Nelson Reservoir—and this week they successfully did just that."

While this is an unusually early start to the season for Malta, crews have been diligently preparing, closing the sluice gate, and opening the gates to divert water into a canal. Burke Ranch Outfitters wanted us to give a big shout out to the hardworking crew at Malta Irrigation for their dedication in making this happen.

As shown in these photos, you can see why they’re keeping a close eye on ice jams and pushing through winter startup to protect their structures and ensure this extra water reaches Nelson Reservoir.