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Milk River near Harlem

Highest listed crest 25.73 ftFlood stage 21.0 ft47 crests since 1952

The Milk River near Harlem crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 47 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1952 to 2023. The highest, 25.73 ft on September 29, 1986, was major flooding, 4.73 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
25.73 ft
September 29, 1986; 13,900 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
21.0 ft
Major flooding from 25.0 ft
Crests at major
2
20th of 93 gauges in Montana
Most recent flood crest
April 12, 2023
23.80 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Blaine County
Montana

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Milk River near Harlem
Action stage20.01Jun 26, 2010The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)21.03Mar 15, 1994Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage23.07Apr 12, 2023Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage25.02Mar 11, 1987Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

47 crests from 1952 to 2023. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Milk River near Harlem, 1952 to 2023 0102030ft Flood stage 21.0 ftMajor 25.0 ft Apr 9, 1952: 23.50 ft, moderate flooding; 19,000 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1960: 15.04 ft, below flood stage; 2,400 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1961: 6.47 ft, below flood stageJul 17, 1961: 4.82 ft, below flood stage; 635 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1962: 11.43 ft, below flood stage; 1,750 cubic feet per secondSep 30, 1963: 4.38 ft, below flood stage; 578 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1964: 5.44 ft, below flood stage; 786 cubic feet per secondApr 8, 1968: 11.62 ft, below flood stage; 1,550 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1974: 22.41 ft, minor flooding; 4,780 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1975: 21.51 ft, minor flooding; 4,210 cubic feet per secondMar 28, 1978: 24.08 ft, moderate flooding; 9,800 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1983: 13.05 ft, below flood stage; 1,650 cubic feet per secondSep 24, 1984: 7.56 ft, below flood stage; 691 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1985: 7.90 ft, below flood stage; 754 cubic feet per secondSep 29, 1986: 25.73 ft, major flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1987: 25.61 ft, major flooding; 1,320 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1988: 11.09 ft, below flood stage; 994 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 1989: 9.74 ft, below flood stage; 866 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1990: 12.87 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 1990: 11.30 ft, below flood stage; 1,150 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1991: 13.87 ft, below flood stage; 1,730 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1992: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 592 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1993: 12.24 ft, below flood stage; 1,520 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1994: 22.82 ft, minor floodingJun 7, 1995: 17.28 ft, below flood stage; 2,880 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1996: 23.88 ft, moderate flooding; 6,450 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1997: 23.85 ft, moderate flooding; 5,970 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1998: 14.36 ft, below flood stage; 1,680 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1999: 9.25 ft, below flood stage; 855 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 2000: 11.82 ft, below flood stage; 1,360 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2001: 7.56 ft, below flood stage; 610 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 2002: 16.30 ft, below flood stage; 2,600 cubic feet per secondMar 17, 2003: 17.44 ft, below flood stageMar 23, 2003: 15.17 ft, below flood stage; 2,350 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 2004: 17.83 ft, below flood stageJun 10, 2005: 7.07 ft, below flood stage; 653 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 2006: 8.31 ft, below flood stageMay 30, 2006: 7.61 ft, below flood stage; 709 cubic feet per secondApr 23, 2007: 7.80 ft, below flood stage; 852 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2008: 8.56 ft, below flood stage; 963 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 2009: 11.39 ft, below flood stageMay 17, 2009: 7.88 ft, below flood stage; 883 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 2010: 20.34 ft, action stage; 4,100 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2011: 23.46 ft, moderate flooding; 6,380 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2012: 11.19 ft, below flood stage; 1,470 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 2018: 24.46 ft, moderate flooding; 7,521 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 2023: 23.80 ft, moderate flooding; 7,480 cubic feet per second Highest, 25.73 ft, Sep 29, 1986 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Milk River near Harlem 1950s: 1 1960s: 0 1970s: 3 3 1980s: 2 1990s: 3 2000s: 0 2010s: 2 2020s: 1 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. 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.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
  3. 3 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 18.85 ft on Mar 18, 1966; 20.56 ft on May 24, 1967; 22.86 ft on Apr 9, 1969.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Milk River near Harlem
1Sep 29, 198625.73+4.73Major13,900
2Mar 11, 198725.61+4.61Major1,320
3Apr 22, 201824.46+3.46Moderate7,521
4Mar 28, 197824.08+3.08Moderate9,800
5Mar 18, 199623.88+2.88Moderate6,450
6Mar 25, 199723.85+2.85Moderate5,970
7Apr 12, 202323.80+2.80Moderate7,480
8Apr 9, 195223.50+2.50Moderate19,000
9Jun 11, 201123.46+2.46Moderate6,380
10Mar 15, 199422.82+1.82Minor—
11May 22, 197422.41+1.41Minor4,780
12May 11, 197521.51+0.51Minor4,210
13Jun 26, 201020.34−0.66Action4,100
14Mar 10, 200417.83−3.17Below flood stage—
15Mar 17, 200317.44−3.56Below flood stage—
16Jun 7, 199517.28−3.72Below flood stage2,880
17Jun 23, 200216.30−4.70Below flood stage2,600
18Mar 23, 200315.17−5.83Below flood stage2,350
19Mar 27, 196015.04−5.96Below flood stage2,400
20Jun 28, 199814.36−6.64Below flood stage1,680
21Jun 30, 199113.87−7.13Below flood stage1,730
22Jul 11, 198313.05−7.95Below flood stage1,650
23Mar 8, 199012.87−8.13Below flood stage—
24Mar 25, 199312.24−8.76Below flood stage1,520
25Jul 6, 200011.82−9.18Below flood stage1,360
26Apr 8, 196811.62−9.38Below flood stage1,550
27Jul 19, 196211.43−9.57Below flood stage1,750
28Mar 27, 200911.39−9.61Below flood stage—
29Jun 5, 199011.30−9.70Below flood stage1,150
30May 28, 201211.19−9.81Below flood stage1,470
31Jun 14, 198811.09−9.91Below flood stage994
32Jul 18, 19899.74−11.26Below flood stage866
33Jun 5, 19999.25−11.75Below flood stage855
34Jun 13, 20088.56−12.44Below flood stage963
35Mar 27, 20068.31−12.69Below flood stage—
36May 20, 19857.90−13.10Below flood stage754
37May 17, 20097.88−13.12Below flood stage883
38Apr 23, 20077.80−13.20Below flood stage852
39May 30, 20067.61−13.39Below flood stage709
40Sep 24, 19847.56−13.44Below flood stage691
41Jun 13, 20017.56−13.44Below flood stage610
42Jun 10, 20057.07−13.93Below flood stage653
43May 22, 19926.90−14.10Below flood stage592
44Mar 19, 19616.47−14.53Below flood stage—
45Jun 11, 19645.44−15.56Below flood stage786
46Jul 17, 19614.82−16.18Below flood stage635
47Sep 30, 19634.38−16.62Below flood stage578

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 29, 1986: 25.73 ft here, major flooding

  • SacoMT · Oct 1, 1986 · 24.45 ft · Major
  • MaltaMT · Sep 27, 1986 · 23.67 ft · Major · its highest
  • DodsonMT · Sep 26, 1986 · 29.79 ft · Moderate · its highest

April 22, 2018: 24.46 ft here, moderate 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
  • MaltaMT · Apr 26, 2018 · 18.13 ft · Minor
  • HavreMT · Apr 19, 2018 · 14.14 ft · Minor

March 28, 1978: 24.08 ft here, moderate flooding

  • SacoMT · Apr 3, 1978 · 24.20 ft · Major
  • MaltaMT · Apr 3, 1978 · 19.74 ft · Moderate
  • HavreMT · Mar 31, 1978 · 15.30 ft · Moderate · its highest
  • Eastern Crossing nr RudyardMT · Mar 23, 1978 · 10.11 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Milk River

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Milk River
Eastern Crossing nr RudyardMT9.513.65 ft, Mar 28, 19521
HavreMT10.015.30 ft, Mar 31, 19780
Harlem this gaugeMT21.025.73 ft, Sep 29, 19862
DodsonMT23.029.79 ft, Sep 26, 19860
MaltaMT16.023.67 ft, Sep 27, 19861
SacoMT20.026.70 ft, Mar 4, 19867
TampicoMT23.028.03 ft, Apr 15, 20115
GlasgowMT25.034.08 ft, Jun 8, 20117
NashuaMT20.031.38 ft, Apr 18, 19523

Other gauges in Blaine County

Flood gauges in Blaine County
Chinook10.022.91 ft, Sep 26, 19864
Chinook near mouth5.510.49 ft, Jun 4, 20138

Blaine County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Montana

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HRLM8, 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.