Ravalli County declares flood emergency
by JOEL GALLOB - Ravalli Republic
With mountain snowpack levels above average and weather forecasters predicting weekend temperatures in the 80s and 90s, the Ravalli County Board of Commissioners declared a flood emergency Thursday.
The declaration came before any actual flooding has occurred, but the National Weather Service believes flooding is likely over the weekend in western Montana and the Bitterroot basin.
The commissioners’ declaration will enable the county to provide sandbags through local fire departments. Sand is available at Florence Fire Hall, Stevensville Water Plant, Victor Fire Hall, Hamilton Airport and at the Ravalli County Bridge and Road Department site in Conner at Sawmill Lane.
The sand should be used for filling sandbags only, said Ravalli County Office of Emergency Manager Ron Nicholas.
His office is compiling a list of volunteers who can assist property owners if emergency sandbagging becomes necessary. Anybody willing to volunteer to help out can call 375-6655, or e-mail him at rnicholas@ravallicounty.mt.gov with name and contact information. Volunteers will be responsible for their own transportation. The contact list will be given to people who request assistance.
Nicholas said additional emergency flood preparedness information can be found at www.floodsmart.gov. Current weather forecasts and stream flow predictions are available at the National Weather Service link at www.wrh.noaa.gov/missoula/.
According to Mike Johnson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, there was a “strong ridge of high pressure air” over the Pacific Northwest on Thursday that is heading toward the Northern Rockies.
Interestingly, two weeks ago, Darby Marshal Larry Rose said records indicate that May 17 has been the peak day for flooding of the Bitterroot in south county in several previous flood years.
Thursday, Johnson said, “is our transition day. Yesterday was wet and cool. Today is the transition to Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, which will all be warm.”
The Weather Service is predicting temperatures in the upper 80s Saturday, he said, It will reach the lower 90s on Sunday and be near 90 on Monday.
The snowpack in the Bitterroot River basin, Johnson said, as of Thursday, was “at 159 percent of the basin-wide average for this time of year.”
The result is a filling up of the creeks and streams first, followed by rising levels in the Bitterroot, and other main stem rivers.
All this is mainly due to the continuation of cool weather so far this spring, especially in the mid and higher elevations, he said.
“We’ve only been 100 percent of normal” precipitation, Johnson said, but the low temperatures, especially at higher elevations, have enabled snow to accumulate.
“But now things have changed,” Johnson said. “We should see some melt ramping up as we get close to the weekend. It will only get worse into the weekend.”
Reporter Joel Gallob can be reached at jgallob@ravallirepublic.com or at 363-3300.
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