Western Snowpack 2017 (so far)

[randyflycaster]

I recently moved to Missoula, MT. Any idea about when runoff will start?
Thanks,
Randy

[John Rhoades]

I recently moved to Missoula, MT. Any idea about when runoff will start?
Thanks,
Randy

Randy -

A lot depends on the weather, obviously, when it starts to warm up, and how warm it gets.

Although I'm in PA now, and don't normally get to MT until May, I'm often there before the runoff begins in earnest on the Yellowstone (runoff can begin near the end of May, or beginning June). I am just south of Livingston. That timing may differ somewhat from where you are, and may differ from one rivershed to another. (I see the weather there this week is getting too warm already for this time of the year, and the Yellowstone water flow is trending upwards this week, and is considerably above normal for this time of the year - but then so is the snowpack considerably above normal, as is YTD precipitation.)

As a starting point, you could go to a USGS water data website, and look back over time to see when the runoffs have begun for prior years for any specific rivers you're interested in. Here's one place you can start to get this data: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/rt There may be other places that have this data also.

John