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Missouri River near Ulm

Highest listed crest 17.00 ftFlood stage 13.5 ft75 crests since 1948

The Missouri River near Ulm crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 75 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1948 to 2018. The highest, 17.00 ft on June 1, 1953, was major flooding, 3.50 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Missouri River crested above flood stage within a week of it.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
17.00 ft
June 1, 1953; 35,000 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
June 22, 2018
13.99 ft, minor flooding
Location
Cascade County
Near Great Falls (6.2 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Missouri River near Ulm
Action stage13.02Jun 3, 2018The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)13.57Jun 22, 2018Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage15.03Jun 11, 2011Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage17.01Jun 1, 1953Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

75 crests from 1948 to 2018. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Missouri River near Ulm, 1948 to 2018 05101520ft Flood stage 13.5 ftMajor 17.0 ft Jun 1, 1948: 16.00 ft, moderate flooding; 32,000 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1953: 17.00 ft, major flooding; 35,000 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1958: 7.98 ft, below flood stage; 11,800 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1959: 11.26 ft, below flood stage; 19,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 1961: 9.38 ft, below flood stageJun 20, 1962: 10.02 ft, below flood stage; 16,000 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1963: 10.78 ft, below flood stage; 18,200 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1964: 14.44 ft, minor flooding; 27,500 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1965: 11.88 ft, below flood stage; 20,600 cubic feet per secondOct 6, 1965: 8.10 ft, below flood stage; 12,300 cubic feet per secondDec 30, 1965: 10.60 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1967: 13.66 ft, minor flooding; 25,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 15, 1968: 9.65 ft, below flood stageJun 14, 1968: 9.64 ft, below flood stage; 15,400 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1969: 12.27 ft, below flood stage; 21,500 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1970: 11.85 ft, below flood stage; 20,000 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1971: 10.99 ft, below flood stage; 18,500 cubic feet per secondDec 11, 1971: 10.33 ft, below flood stageJun 29, 1972: 8.77 ft, below flood stage; 13,800 cubic feet per secondNov 6, 1972: 5.62 ft, below flood stage; 7,210 cubic feet per secondDec 12, 1972: 9.35 ft, below flood stageJun 22, 1973: 14.44 ft, minor flooding; 27,500 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1974: 12.09 ft, below flood stage; 20,000 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1975: 14.64 ft, minor flooding; 27,400 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1976: 12.73 ft, below flood stage; 23,200 cubic feet per secondJan 7, 1977: 10.53 ft, below flood stageFeb 6, 1977: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 8,120 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1978: 9.83 ft, below flood stage; 15,500 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 1979: 7.95 ft, below flood stage; 10,800 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1980: 12.25 ft, below flood stage; 20,400 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1981: 14.99 ft, minor flooding; 28,500 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1982: 12.94 ft, below flood stage; 22,600 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 1983: 11.05 ft, below flood stage; 18,500 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1984: 12.80 ft, below flood stage; 22,600 cubic feet per secondOct 1, 1984: 7.03 ft, below flood stage; 9,840 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1986: 9.74 ft, below flood stage; 15,300 cubic feet per secondJan 20, 1987: 10.23 ft, below flood stageJan 4, 1988: 6.75 ft, below flood stageMay 8, 1988: 4.95 ft, below flood stage; 6,130 cubic feet per secondMar 12, 1989: 9.50 ft, below flood stage; 10,000 cubic feet per secondDec 25, 1989: 8.11 ft, below flood stageJun 1, 1990: 5.50 ft, below flood stage; 7,190 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1991: 10.87 ft, below flood stage; 16,800 cubic feet per secondAug 16, 1992: 9.29 ft, below flood stageJun 19, 1993: 11.91 ft, below flood stage; 18,500 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1994: 9.95 ft, below flood stageApr 26, 1994: 7.08 ft, below flood stage; 9,290 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1995: 12.00 ft, below flood stage; 19,000 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1996: 12.76 ft, below flood stage; 22,500 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1997: 15.20 ft, moderate flooding; 28,100 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 1998: 13.04 ft, action stage; 23,100 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1999: 9.03 ft, below flood stage; 13,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2000: 7.93 ft, below flood stageDec 19, 2000: 5.72 ft, below flood stageApr 30, 2001: 4.37 ft, below flood stage; 5,370 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2002: 7.23 ft, below flood stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2003: 7.86 ft, below flood stage; 11,100 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 2004: 6.75 ft, below flood stageMay 28, 2004: 4.90 ft, below flood stage; 5,840 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2005: 6.80 ft, below flood stage; 8,970 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2006: 9.09 ft, below flood stage; 13,900 cubic feet per secondDec 21, 2006: 7.71 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 2007: 7.39 ft, below flood stage; 10,200 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2008: 11.88 ft, below flood stage; 18,300 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2009: 9.42 ft, below flood stage; 14,600 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2010: 12.00 ft, below flood stage; 20,700 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 2010: 13.59 ft, minor flooding; 24,400 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2011: 15.48 ft, moderate flooding; 28,800 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 2012: 8.45 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 2012: 7.84 ft, below flood stage; 11,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 2, 2013: 6.69 ft, below flood stageJun 5, 2013: 6.00 ft, below flood stage; 7,500 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2014: 9.06 ft, below flood stage; 13,800 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 2018: 13.35 ft, action stage; 24,074 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 2018: 13.99 ft, minor flooding; 23,945 cubic feet per second Highest, 17.00 ft, Jun 1, 1953 1950196019701980199020002010

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Missouri River near Ulm 1940s: 1 1950s: 1 1960s: 2 1970s: 2 1980s: 1 1990s: 1 2000s: 0 2010s: 3 3 1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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 75 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Missouri River near Ulm
1Jun 1, 195317.00+3.50Major35,000
2Jun 1, 194816.00+2.50Moderate32,000
3Jun 11, 201115.48+1.98Moderate28,800
4Jun 17, 199715.20+1.70Moderate28,100
5May 24, 198114.99+1.49Minor28,500
6Jun 22, 197514.64+1.14Minor27,400
7Jun 22, 196414.44+0.94Minor27,500
8Jun 22, 197314.44+0.94Minor27,500
9Jun 22, 201813.99+0.49Minor23,945
10Jun 15, 196713.66+0.16Minor25,300
11Jun 22, 201013.59+0.09Minor24,400
12Jun 3, 201813.35−0.15Action24,074
13Jul 5, 199813.04−0.46Action23,100
14Jul 4, 198212.94−0.56Below flood stage22,600
15Jun 28, 198412.80−0.70Below flood stage22,600
16Jun 15, 199612.76−0.74Below flood stage22,500
17May 7, 197612.73−0.77Below flood stage23,200
18Jun 29, 196912.27−1.23Below flood stage21,500
19Jun 19, 198012.25−1.25Below flood stage20,400
20Jun 22, 197412.09−1.41Below flood stage20,000
21Jun 14, 199512.00−1.50Below flood stage19,000
22Jun 13, 201012.00−1.50Below flood stage20,700
23Jun 19, 199311.91−1.59Below flood stage18,500
24Jul 1, 196511.88−1.62Below flood stage20,600
25Jun 13, 200811.88−1.62Below flood stage18,300
26Jun 15, 197011.85−1.65Below flood stage20,000
27Jun 19, 195911.26−2.24Below flood stage19,100
28Jul 11, 198311.05−2.45Below flood stage18,500
29May 12, 197110.99−2.51Below flood stage18,500
30Jun 13, 199110.87−2.63Below flood stage16,800
31Jun 12, 196310.78−2.72Below flood stage18,200
32Dec 30, 196510.60−2.90Below flood stage—
33Jan 7, 197710.53−2.97Below flood stage—
34Dec 11, 197110.33−3.17Below flood stage—
35Jan 20, 198710.23−3.27Below flood stage—
36Jun 20, 196210.02−3.48Below flood stage16,000
37Jan 21, 19949.95−3.55Below flood stage—
38May 20, 19789.83−3.67Below flood stage15,500
39Jun 11, 19869.74−3.76Below flood stage15,300
40Feb 15, 19689.65−3.85Below flood stage—
41Jun 14, 19689.64−3.86Below flood stage15,400
42Mar 12, 19899.50−4.00Below flood stage10,000
43May 30, 20099.42−4.08Below flood stage14,600
44Feb 1, 19619.38−4.12Below flood stage—
45Dec 12, 19729.35−4.15Below flood stage—
46Aug 16, 19929.29−4.21Below flood stage—
47Jun 11, 20069.09−4.41Below flood stage13,900
48May 31, 20149.06−4.44Below flood stage13,800
49Jun 7, 19999.03−4.47Below flood stage13,700
50Jun 29, 19728.77−4.73Below flood stage13,800

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 1, 1953: 17.00 ft here, major flooding

June 11, 2011: 15.48 ft here, moderate flooding

  • LanduskyMT · Jun 11, 2011 · 32.35 ft · Moderate

June 17, 1997: 15.20 ft here, moderate flooding

  • LanduskyMT · Jun 17, 1997 · 27.12 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Missouri River

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

Flood gauges on the Missouri River
Ulm this gaugeMT13.517.00 ft, Jun 1, 19531
Fort BentonMT13.518.50 ft, Jun 6, 19081
VirgelleMT17.025.40 ft, Jun 1, 19081
LanduskyMT27.034.17 ft, Mar 25, 19781

Other gauges in Cascade County

Flood gauges in Cascade County
Monarch6.57.74 ft, Jun 9, 19640
Truly9.022.50 ft, Jun 4, 19531
Simms7.513.70 ft, Jun 9, 19643
Vaughn6.013.66 ft, Mar 19, 196920

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ULMM8, 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.