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Musselshell River near Harlowton

Highest listed crest 10.25 ftFlood stage 7.0 ft63 crests since 1957

The Musselshell River near Harlowton crested above flood stage 8 times among the 63 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1957 to 2024. The highest, 10.25 ft on May 25, 2011, was minor flooding, 3.25 feet above flood stage. 4 other gauges on the Musselshell River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
10.25 ft
May 25, 2011; 5,520 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
7.0 ft
No major stage set
Crests at major
0
8 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
May 11, 2018
7.55 ft, minor flooding
Location
Wheatland County
Montana

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Musselshell River near Harlowton
Flood stage (minor)7.08May 11, 2018Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat

Every listed crest

63 crests from 1957 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Musselshell River near Harlowton, 1957 to 2024 024681012ft Flood stage 7.0 ft Jun 22, 1957: 5.48 ft, below flood stage; 1,540 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1959: 5.12 ft, below flood stage; 1,230 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1962: 6.26 ft, below flood stage; 1,950 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1964: 6.07 ft, below flood stage; 1,820 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1965: 5.65 ft, below flood stage; 1,260 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 1966: 4.38 ft, below flood stage; 778 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1967: 7.52 ft, minor flooding; 2,880 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1968: 5.39 ft, below flood stage; 1,220 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1969: 4.64 ft, below flood stage; 984 cubic feet per secondMay 23, 1970: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 1,660 cubic feet per secondMay 15, 1971: 4.36 ft, below flood stage; 732 cubic feet per secondJun 3, 1973: 2.97 ft, below flood stage; 181 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1974: 4.99 ft, below flood stage; 1,080 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1976: 6.01 ft, below flood stage; 1,820 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1977: 3.12 ft, below flood stage; 252 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1978: 5.90 ft, below flood stage; 1,760 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1979: 9.14 ft, minor flooding; 4,680 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1980: 5.78 ft, below flood stage; 1,860 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1981: 7.19 ft, minor flooding; 2,940 cubic feet per secondJun 16, 1982: 5.55 ft, below flood stage; 1,590 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1983: 3.59 ft, below flood stage; 513 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1984: 4.03 ft, below flood stage; 683 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1985: 2.68 ft, below flood stage; 229 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 1987: 3.41 ft, below flood stage; 367 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1988: 2.99 ft, below flood stage; 248 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1989: 3.53 ft, below flood stage; 428 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1990: 4.92 ft, below flood stage; 706 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1991: 7.26 ft, minor flooding; 2,530 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1992: 6.11 ft, below flood stage; 1,710 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1993: 4.43 ft, below flood stage; 788 cubic feet per secondApr 26, 1994: 4.26 ft, below flood stage; 712 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1995: 5.72 ft, below flood stage; 1,460 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1996: 5.19 ft, below flood stage; 1,160 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1997: 8.25 ft, minor flooding; 3,720 cubic feet per secondJun 21, 1998: 3.69 ft, below flood stage; 748 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 1999: 3.20 ft, below flood stage; 578 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2000: 1.43 ft, below flood stage; 115 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 2001: 2.87 ft, below flood stage; 460 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2002: 2.84 ft, below flood stage; 398 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2003: 4.06 ft, below flood stage; 411 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2004: 4.57 ft, below flood stage; 694 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2005: 5.21 ft, below flood stage; 1,070 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2006: 4.83 ft, below flood stage; 739 cubic feet per secondJul 7, 2007: 5.04 ft, below flood stage; 886 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2008: 5.07 ft, below flood stage; 771 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2009: 4.92 ft, below flood stage; 694 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2010: 6.14 ft, below flood stage; 1,440 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2011: 10.25 ft, minor flooding; 5,520 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2012: 3.69 ft, below flood stage; 368 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2013: 3.75 ft, below flood stage; 382 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2014: 9.84 ft, minor floodingMay 27, 2014: 5.59 ft, below flood stage; 1,600 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 2015: 6.76 ft, below flood stageJun 2, 2015: 5.62 ft, below flood stage; 1,580 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 2016: 3.80 ft, below flood stage; 329 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2017: 4.78 ft, below flood stage; 884 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 2018: 7.55 ft, minor flooding; 3,210 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 2019: 6.24 ft, below flood stage; 2,100 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2020: 5.07 ft, below flood stage; 1,190 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2021: 3.49 ft, below flood stage; 297 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2022: 3.72 ft, below flood stage; 363 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2023: 6.90 ft, below flood stage; 2,800 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2024: 3.89 ft, below flood stage; 362 cubic feet per second Highest, 10.25 ft, May 25, 2011 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Musselshell River near Harlowton 1950s: 0 1960s: 1 1970s: 1 1980s: 1 1990s: 2 2000s: 0 2010s: 3 3 2020s: 0 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. 1 crest measured on an earlier gauge datum is left out: 10.01 ft on Jun 20, 1975.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 63 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Musselshell River near Harlowton
1May 25, 201110.25+3.25Minor5,520
2Mar 7, 20149.84+2.84Minor—
3Jun 20, 19799.14+2.14Minor4,680
4Jun 12, 19978.25+1.25Minor3,720
5May 11, 20187.55+0.55Minor3,210
6Jun 15, 19677.52+0.52Minor2,880
7Jun 6, 19917.26+0.26Minor2,530
8May 24, 19817.19+0.19Minor2,940
9Jun 5, 20236.90−0.10Below flood stage2,800
10Jan 27, 20156.76−0.24Below flood stage—
11May 28, 19626.26−0.74Below flood stage1,950
12May 27, 20196.24−0.76Below flood stage2,100
13Jun 20, 20106.14−0.86Below flood stage1,440
14Jun 18, 19926.11−0.89Below flood stage1,710
15Jun 11, 19646.07−0.93Below flood stage1,820
16May 16, 19766.01−0.99Below flood stage1,820
17May 24, 19785.90−1.10Below flood stage1,760
18May 23, 19705.85−1.15Below flood stage1,660
19Jun 17, 19805.78−1.22Below flood stage1,860
20Jun 7, 19955.72−1.28Below flood stage1,460
21Jun 18, 19655.65−1.35Below flood stage1,260
22Jun 2, 20155.62−1.38Below flood stage1,580
23May 27, 20145.59−1.41Below flood stage1,600
24Jun 16, 19825.55−1.45Below flood stage1,590
25Jun 22, 19575.48−1.52Below flood stage1,540
26Jun 11, 19685.39−1.61Below flood stage1,220
27May 21, 20055.21−1.79Below flood stage1,070
28May 31, 19965.19−1.81Below flood stage1,160
29Jun 9, 19595.12−1.88Below flood stage1,230
30May 26, 20085.07−1.93Below flood stage771
31May 21, 20205.07−1.93Below flood stage1,190
32Jul 7, 20075.04−1.96Below flood stage886
33Jun 18, 19744.99−2.01Below flood stage1,080
34May 31, 19904.92−2.08Below flood stage706
35May 21, 20094.92−2.08Below flood stage694
36Jun 11, 20064.83−2.17Below flood stage739
37Jun 14, 20174.78−2.22Below flood stage884
38Mar 24, 19694.64−2.36Below flood stage984
39Jun 13, 20044.57−2.43Below flood stage694
40Jul 28, 19934.43−2.57Below flood stage788
41May 12, 19664.38−2.62Below flood stage778
42May 15, 19714.36−2.64Below flood stage732
43Apr 26, 19944.26−2.74Below flood stage712
44Apr 27, 20034.06−2.94Below flood stage411
45May 17, 19844.03−2.97Below flood stage683
46May 31, 20243.89−3.11Below flood stage362
47May 22, 20163.80−3.20Below flood stage329
48Jun 4, 20133.75−3.25Below flood stage382
49Jun 7, 20223.72−3.28Below flood stage363
50Jun 21, 19983.69−3.31Below flood stage748

The worst floods along the Musselshell River

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

May 25, 2011: 10.25 ft here, minor flooding

  • MosbyMT · May 23, 2011 · 16.00 ft · Major
  • RoundupMT · May 26, 2011 · 14.78 ft · Major · its highest
  • MusselshellMT · May 27, 2011 · 13.23 ft · Major · its highest
  • ShawmutMT · May 26, 2011 · 9.27 ft · Minor · its highest

March 7, 2014: 9.84 ft here, minor flooding

  • RoundupMT · Mar 10, 2014 · 13.24 ft · Major
  • MusselshellMT · Mar 11, 2014 · 12.23 ft · Major
  • MosbyMT · Mar 12, 2014 · 11.35 ft · Minor
  • LavinaMT · Mar 10, 2014 · 10.47 ft · Minor

June 20, 1979: 9.14 ft here, minor flooding

Gauges on the Musselshell River

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

Flood gauges on the Musselshell River
Harlowton this gaugeMT7.010.25 ft, May 25, 20110
ShawmutMT8.09.27 ft, May 26, 20110
LavinaMT9.511.15 ft, Jun 21, 20180
RoundupMT10.014.78 ft, May 26, 20119
MusselshellMT11.013.23 ft, May 27, 20113
MosbyMT10.017.70 ft, Jul 27, 199310

Other gauges in Wheatland County

Flood gauges in Wheatland County
Shawmut8.09.27 ft, May 26, 20110

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge HLWM8, 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.