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Missouri River at Fort Benton

Highest listed crest 18.50 ftFlood stage 13.5 ft126 crests since 1908

The Missouri River at Fort Benton crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 126 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1908 to 2014. The highest, 18.50 ft on June 6, 1908, was major flooding, 5.00 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Missouri River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
18.50 ft
June 6, 1908; 140,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
13.5 ft
Major flooding from 17.0 ft
Crests at major
1
28th of 93 gauges in Montana
Most recent flood crest
February 9, 1996
16.39 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Chouteau County
Montana

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Missouri River at Fort Benton
Action stage13.05Jan 1, 1997The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)13.56Jan 30, 1984Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage15.01Feb 9, 1996Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage17.01Jun 6, 1908Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

126 crests from 1908 to 2014. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Missouri River at Fort Benton, 1908 to 2014 05101520ft Flood stage 13.5 ftMajor 17.0 ft Jun 6, 1908: 18.50 ft, major flooding; 140,000 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1924: 6.13 ft, below flood stage; 24,300 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1925: 7.05 ft, below flood stage; 29,800 cubic feet per secondApr 21, 1926: 5.45 ft, below flood stage; 20,400 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1927: 10.30 ft, below flood stage; 52,900 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1928: 7.65 ft, below flood stage; 33,400 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1929: 5.65 ft, below flood stage; 21,500 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1930: 4.80 ft, below flood stage; 16,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 1931: 4.00 ft, below flood stage; 13,000 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1932: 5.95 ft, below flood stage; 23,500 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1933: 6.49 ft, below flood stage; 26,200 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1934: 12.21 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1935: 5.14 ft, below flood stage; 17,200 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1936: 9.10 ft, below flood stageJul 13, 1937: 3.56 ft, below flood stage; 10,600 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1938: 7.20 ft, below flood stage; 30,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1939: 8.61 ft, below flood stageJan 9, 1940: 10.33 ft, below flood stageJan 27, 1941: 10.72 ft, below flood stageJan 2, 1942: 8.75 ft, below flood stageJan 29, 1943: 9.00 ft, below flood stageJun 19, 1944: 7.70 ft, below flood stage; 31,000 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1945: 6.57 ft, below flood stage; 23,900 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1946: 5.62 ft, below flood stage; 18,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1947: 11.90 ft, below flood stageJun 7, 1948: 10.93 ft, below flood stage; 52,800 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 1949: 12.98 ft, below flood stageDec 24, 1949: 12.89 ft, below flood stageJan 31, 1951: 9.56 ft, below flood stageDec 20, 1951: 10.62 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 1953: 13.57 ft, minor flooding; 78,700 cubic feet per secondJan 19, 1954: 11.20 ft, below flood stageMar 7, 1955: 12.65 ft, below flood stageJan 9, 1956: 13.25 ft, action stageJun 4, 1956: 7.86 ft, below flood stage; 31,100 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 1956: 13.25 ft, action stageJun 14, 1958: 6.13 ft, below flood stage; 20,500 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1959: 12.22 ft, below flood stageMar 6, 1960: 11.46 ft, below flood stageJun 1, 1961: 3.91 ft, below flood stage; 10,300 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1962: 10.78 ft, below flood stageFeb 6, 1963: 12.78 ft, below flood stageJun 10, 1964: 13.44 ft, action stage; 77,400 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1964: 9.80 ft, below flood stageJun 17, 1965: 7.86 ft, below flood stage; 31,100 cubic feet per secondOct 16, 1965: 5.57 ft, below flood stage; 17,800 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1966: 11.06 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1967: 8.93 ft, below flood stage; 38,600 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1968: 14.37 ft, minor floodingJun 13, 1968: 7.46 ft, below flood stage; 28,500 cubic feet per secondJan 4, 1969: 11.30 ft, below flood stageJun 28, 1969: 7.40 ft, below flood stage; 29,400 cubic feet per secondJan 18, 1970: 13.53 ft, minor floodingJun 15, 1970: 7.35 ft, below flood stage; 28,200 cubic feet per secondJan 14, 1971: 12.02 ft, below flood stageMay 14, 1971: 7.07 ft, below flood stage; 26,600 cubic feet per secondMar 3, 1972: 13.26 ft, action stageJun 4, 1972: 6.68 ft, below flood stage; 24,500 cubic feet per secondNov 7, 1972: 4.74 ft, below flood stage; 14,500 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1973: 14.14 ft, minor floodingJan 15, 1974: 14.00 ft, minor floodingJun 20, 1974: 7.53 ft, below flood stage; 29,200 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1975: 11.85 ft, below flood stage; 62,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1976: 9.77 ft, below flood stageMay 7, 1976: 8.21 ft, below flood stage; 33,200 cubic feet per secondOct 18, 1976: 4.08 ft, below flood stage; 10,800 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1978: 6.52 ft, below flood stage; 23,500 cubic feet per secondJan 3, 1979: 12.30 ft, below flood stageMay 26, 1979: 5.97 ft, below flood stage; 20,600 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1980: 10.04 ft, below flood stageMay 27, 1980: 7.35 ft, below flood stage; 28,100 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1981: 10.57 ft, below flood stage; 51,100 cubic feet per secondJul 3, 1982: 7.51 ft, below flood stage; 29,200 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1983: 6.60 ft, below flood stage; 23,500 cubic feet per secondJan 30, 1984: 13.64 ft, minor floodingJun 24, 1984: 7.02 ft, below flood stage; 26,100 cubic feet per secondOct 3, 1984: 4.10 ft, below flood stage; 11,300 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 1985: 12.41 ft, below flood stageFeb 26, 1986: 6.05 ft, below flood stage; 21,400 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1987: 4.25 ft, below flood stage; 11,900 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1988: 3.30 ft, below flood stage; 8,370 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1989: 8.18 ft, below flood stageMay 11, 1989: 5.14 ft, below flood stage; 15,900 cubic feet per secondDec 23, 1989: 11.12 ft, below flood stageMay 31, 1990: 5.06 ft, below flood stage; 15,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1991: 7.23 ft, below flood stageJun 13, 1991: 6.66 ft, below flood stage; 24,100 cubic feet per secondJan 10, 1992: 3.23 ft, below flood stage; 8,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 1993: 9.77 ft, below flood stageJun 18, 1993: 6.46 ft, below flood stage; 23,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1994: 12.97 ft, below flood stageApr 24, 1994: 4.96 ft, below flood stage; 15,400 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 1995: 9.28 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 1995: 7.37 ft, below flood stage; 28,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 9, 1996: 16.39 ft, moderate floodingJun 16, 1996: 7.68 ft, below flood stage; 30,200 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1997: 13.12 ft, action stageJun 13, 1997: 8.94 ft, below flood stage; 36,700 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1998: 9.01 ft, below flood stageJul 4, 1998: 7.64 ft, below flood stage; 29,000 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1999: 8.80 ft, below flood stageJun 7, 1999: 5.86 ft, below flood stage; 19,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 24, 2000: 3.13 ft, below flood stage; 7,890 cubic feet per secondDec 17, 2000: 6.43 ft, below flood stageMay 1, 2001: 2.74 ft, below flood stage; 6,640 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 2002: 9.81 ft, below flood stageJun 12, 2002: 5.11 ft, below flood stage; 15,900 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 2003: 12.39 ft, below flood stageMay 31, 2003: 4.72 ft, below flood stage; 14,200 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 2004: 9.18 ft, below flood stageMay 28, 2004: 3.39 ft, below flood stage; 9,100 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 2005: 8.77 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 2005: 5.30 ft, below flood stage; 17,100 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2006: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 19,900 cubic feet per secondNov 30, 2006: 9.04 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 2007: 4.72 ft, below flood stage; 14,300 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2008: 7.75 ft, below flood stage; 31,900 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2009: 5.94 ft, below flood stage; 20,500 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2010: 7.63 ft, below flood stage; 30,000 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2011: 11.79 ft, below flood stageJun 10, 2011: 10.71 ft, below flood stage; 52,700 cubic feet per secondJan 24, 2012: 10.69 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 2012: 5.28 ft, below flood stage; 16,200 cubic feet per secondJan 15, 2013: 11.23 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 2013: 4.96 ft, below flood stage; 15,400 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 2014: 5.26 ft, below flood stage; 17,200 cubic feet per second Highest, 18.50 ft, Jun 6, 1908 19201940196019802000

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Missouri River at Fort Benton 1900s: 1 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 1 1960s: 1 1970s: 3 3 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 126 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Missouri River at Fort Benton
1Jun 6, 190818.50+5.00Major140,000
2Feb 9, 199616.39+2.89Moderate—
3Jan 12, 196814.37+0.87Minor—
4Jan 11, 197314.14+0.64Minor—
5Jan 15, 197414.00+0.50Minor—
6Jan 30, 198413.64+0.14Minor—
7Jun 5, 195313.57+0.07Minor78,700
8Jan 18, 197013.53+0.03Minor—
9Jun 10, 196413.44−0.06Action77,400
10Mar 3, 197213.26−0.24Action—
11Jan 9, 195613.25−0.25Action—
12Dec 9, 195613.25−0.25Action—
13Jan 1, 199713.12−0.38Action—
14Jan 13, 194912.98−0.52Below flood stage—
15Feb 26, 199412.97−0.53Below flood stage—
16Dec 24, 194912.89−0.61Below flood stage—
17Feb 6, 196312.78−0.72Below flood stage—
18Mar 7, 195512.65−0.85Below flood stage—
19Dec 2, 198512.41−1.09Below flood stage—
20Mar 12, 200312.39−1.11Below flood stage—
21Jan 3, 197912.30−1.20Below flood stage—
22Jan 27, 195912.22−1.28Below flood stage—
23Jan 3, 193412.21−1.29Below flood stage—
24Jan 14, 197112.02−1.48Below flood stage—
25Feb 4, 194711.90−1.60Below flood stage—
26Jun 21, 197511.85−1.65Below flood stage62,000
27Jan 13, 201111.79−1.71Below flood stage—
28Mar 6, 196011.46−2.04Below flood stage—
29Jan 4, 196911.30−2.20Below flood stage—
30Jan 15, 201311.23−2.27Below flood stage—
31Jan 19, 195411.20−2.30Below flood stage—
32Dec 23, 198911.12−2.38Below flood stage—
33Jan 10, 196611.06−2.44Below flood stage—
34Jun 7, 194810.93−2.57Below flood stage52,800
35Jan 10, 196210.78−2.72Below flood stage—
36Jan 27, 194110.72−2.78Below flood stage—
37Jun 10, 201110.71−2.79Below flood stage52,700
38Jan 24, 201210.69−2.81Below flood stage—
39Dec 20, 195110.62−2.88Below flood stage—
40May 24, 198110.57−2.93Below flood stage51,100
41Jan 9, 194010.33−3.17Below flood stage—
42Jun 13, 192710.30−3.20Below flood stage52,900
43Jan 12, 198010.04−3.46Below flood stage—
44Jan 31, 20029.81−3.69Below flood stage—
45Dec 23, 19649.80−3.70Below flood stage—
46Mar 5, 19769.77−3.73Below flood stage—
47Feb 25, 19939.77−3.73Below flood stage—
48Jan 31, 19519.56−3.94Below flood stage—
49Jan 7, 19959.28−4.22Below flood stage—
50Feb 2, 20049.18−4.32Below flood stage—

The worst floods along the Missouri River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Missouri River that crested above flood stage within a week.

June 6, 1908: 18.50 ft here, major flooding

  • VirgelleMT · Jun 1, 1908 · 25.40 ft · Major · its highest

Gauges on the Missouri River

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

Flood gauges on the Missouri River
UlmMT13.517.00 ft, Jun 1, 19531
Fort Benton this gaugeMT13.518.50 ft, Jun 6, 19081
VirgelleMT17.025.40 ft, Jun 1, 19081
LanduskyMT27.034.17 ft, Mar 25, 19781

Other gauges in Chouteau County

Flood gauges in Chouteau County
Virgelle17.025.40 ft, Jun 1, 19081

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge FBNM8, 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.