Milk River at Malta
Highest listed crest 23.67 ftFlood stage 16.0 ft10 crests since 1978
The Milk River at Malta crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 10 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1978 to 2023. The highest, 23.67 ft on September 27, 1986, was major flooding, 7.67 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Milk River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 2 at their own highest listed crest.
The gauge
- Highest listed crest
- 23.67 ft
- September 27, 1986
- Flood stage
- 16.0 ft
- Major flooding from 22.0 ft
- Crests at major
- 1
- 28th of 93 gauges in Montana
- Most recent flood crest
- April 26, 2018
- 18.13 ft, minor flooding
Flood stages
The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.
| Action stage | 14.0 | 3 | Apr 17, 2023 |
| Flood stage (minor) | 16.0 | 4 | Apr 26, 2018 |
| Moderate flood stage | 19.0 | 1 | Apr 3, 1978 |
| Major flood stage | 22.0 | 1 | Sep 27, 1986 |
Every listed crest
10 crests from 1978 to 2023. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.
Crests at or above flood stage, by decade
- These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
- Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
- 4 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 19.60 ft on Apr 10, 1907; 19.40 ft on Apr 6, 1917; 19.80 ft on Mar 27, 1918; 22.26 ft on Apr 11, 1952.
Highest crests
| 1 | Sep 27, 1986 | 23.67 | +7.67 | Major |
| 2 | Apr 3, 1978 | 19.74 | +3.74 | Moderate |
| 3 | Apr 26, 2018 | 18.13 | +2.13 | Minor |
| 4 | Oct 7, 2016 | 18.10 | +2.10 | Minor |
| 5 | Mar 19, 1979 | 17.77 | +1.77 | Minor |
| 6 | May 25, 2011 | 17.64 | +1.64 | Minor |
| 7 | Jun 7, 2013 | 15.52 | −0.48 | Action |
| 8 | Apr 17, 2023 | 14.68 | −1.32 | Action |
| 9 | Aug 27, 2014 | 14.20 | −1.80 | Action |
| 10 | Mar 26, 1997 | 10.92 | −5.08 | Below flood stage |
The worst floods along the Milk River
For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Milk River that crested above flood stage within a week.
September 27, 1986: 23.67 ft here, major flooding
April 3, 1978: 19.74 ft here, moderate flooding
- SacoMT · Apr 3, 1978 · 24.20 ft · Major
- NashuaMT · Apr 5, 1978 · 28.93 ft · Moderate
- HarlemMT · Mar 28, 1978 · 24.08 ft · Moderate
- HavreMT · Mar 31, 1978 · 15.30 ft · Moderate · its highest
- Eastern Crossing nr RudyardMT · Mar 27, 1978 · 9.61 ft · Minor
April 26, 2018: 18.13 ft here, minor flooding
- SacoMT · Apr 23, 2018 · 24.22 ft · Major
- GlasgowMT · Apr 29, 2018 · 30.09 ft · Moderate
- DodsonMT · Apr 23, 2018 · 28.14 ft · Moderate
- TampicoMT · Apr 25, 2018 · 26.98 ft · Moderate
- HarlemMT · Apr 22, 2018 · 24.46 ft · Moderate
- NashuaMT · Apr 30, 2018 · 22.35 ft · Minor
- HavreMT · Apr 19, 2018 · 14.14 ft · Minor
Gauges on the Milk River
In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.
| Eastern Crossing nr Rudyard | MT | 13.65 ft, Mar 28, 1952 | 1 |
| Havre | MT | 15.30 ft, Mar 31, 1978 | 0 |
| Harlem | MT | 25.73 ft, Sep 29, 1986 | 2 |
| Dodson | MT | 29.79 ft, Sep 26, 1986 | 0 |
| Malta this gauge | MT | 23.67 ft, Sep 27, 1986 | 1 |
| Saco | MT | 26.70 ft, Mar 4, 1986 | 7 |
| Tampico | MT | 28.03 ft, Apr 15, 2011 | 5 |
| Glasgow | MT | 34.08 ft, Jun 8, 2011 | 7 |
| Nashua | MT | 31.38 ft, Apr 18, 1952 | 3 |
Other gauges in Phillips County
| Saco | 14.68 ft, Sep 26, 1986 | 0 |
| Intl Boundary | 19.90 ft, Apr 15, 1952 | 0 |
| Dodson | 29.79 ft, Sep 26, 1986 | 0 |
| Landusky | 34.17 ft, Mar 25, 1978 | 1 |
Phillips County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Montana
NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MALM8, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.