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Yellowstone River at Miles City

Highest listed crest 21.70 ftFlood stage 14.0 ft85 crests since 1929

The Yellowstone River at Miles City crested above flood stage 5 times among the 85 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1929 to 2024. The highest, 21.70 ft on March 20, 1944, was minor flooding, 7.70 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
21.70 ft
March 20, 1944
Flood stage
14.0 ft
No major stage set
Crests at major
0
5 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
May 24, 2011
14.74 ft, minor flooding
Location
Custer County
Montana

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Yellowstone River at Miles City
Flood stage (minor)14.05May 24, 2011Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat

Every listed crest

85 crests from 1929 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Yellowstone River at Miles City, 1929 to 2024 510152025ft Flood stage 14.0 ft Jun 18, 1929: 11.20 ft, below flood stage; 60,300 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1930: 9.08 ft, below flood stage; 42,000 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1931: 9.49 ft, below flood stage; 45,000 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 1932: 12.17 ft, below flood stage; 65,200 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1933: 11.62 ft, below flood stage; 60,800 cubic feet per secondMay 11, 1934: 5.85 ft, below flood stage; 20,100 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1935: 12.22 ft, below flood stage; 66,400 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1936: 10.76 ft, below flood stage; 51,600 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1937: 11.10 ft, below flood stage; 51,600 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1944: 21.70 ft, minor floodingJun 23, 1947: 12.42 ft, below flood stage; 64,800 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1948: 13.05 ft, below flood stage; 70,500 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1949: 10.08 ft, below flood stage; 46,100 cubic feet per secondJun 25, 1950: 11.47 ft, below flood stage; 57,300 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 1951: 10.86 ft, below flood stage; 52,000 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1952: 11.46 ft, below flood stage; 54,400 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1953: 11.60 ft, below flood stage; 58,400 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1954: 9.90 ft, below flood stage; 44,200 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1955: 9.07 ft, below flood stage; 37,600 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1956: 12.08 ft, below flood stage; 60,700 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1957: 12.86 ft, below flood stage; 67,900 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1958: 9.90 ft, below flood stage; 40,300 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1959: 11.53 ft, below flood stage; 54,200 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1960: 8.49 ft, below flood stage; 32,900 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1962: 11.91 ft, below flood stage; 57,100 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1963: 12.81 ft, below flood stage; 61,300 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1964: 12.70 ft, below flood stage; 62,800 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1965: 13.32 ft, below flood stage; 68,400 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1966: 8.47 ft, below flood stage; 29,200 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1967: 13.75 ft, below flood stage; 71,400 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1968: 12.57 ft, below flood stage; 63,000 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1969: 10.90 ft, below flood stage; 48,100 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 1970: 12.05 ft, below flood stage; 59,500 cubic feet per secondJun 26, 1971: 12.10 ft, below flood stage; 58,300 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1972: 11.57 ft, below flood stage; 56,000 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1973: 10.42 ft, below flood stage; 46,300 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1974: 13.64 ft, below flood stage; 75,400 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 1975: 13.33 ft, below flood stage; 70,100 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1976: 10.46 ft, below flood stage; 45,700 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1977: 7.90 ft, below flood stage; 28,100 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1978: 16.50 ft, minor flooding; 102,000 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1979: 16.62 ft, minor flooding; 53,900 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1980: 8.83 ft, below flood stage; 33,900 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1981: 11.38 ft, below flood stage; 57,200 cubic feet per secondJul 2, 1982: 11.84 ft, below flood stage; 61,000 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1983: 9.62 ft, below flood stage; 41,500 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1984: 9.21 ft, below flood stage; 41,800 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 1985: 7.67 ft, below flood stage; 29,600 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 1986: 10.94 ft, below flood stage; 52,200 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1987: 6.95 ft, below flood stage; 24,100 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 1988: 8.47 ft, below flood stage; 33,900 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1989: 9.10 ft, below flood stage; 36,600 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1990: 8.72 ft, below flood stage; 35,600 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1991: 11.76 ft, below flood stage; 56,600 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1992: 9.51 ft, below flood stage; 39,400 cubic feet per secondJul 28, 1993: 10.03 ft, below flood stage; 43,200 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1995: 11.39 ft, below flood stage; 55,700 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1996: 12.69 ft, below flood stage; 65,700 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1997: 14.53 ft, minor flooding; 83,300 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1998: 9.19 ft, below flood stage; 39,800 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 1999: 11.18 ft, below flood stage; 52,300 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2000: 8.74 ft, below flood stage; 33,900 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 2001: 7.26 ft, below flood stage; 24,100 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2002: 9.69 ft, below flood stage; 44,500 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2003: 10.63 ft, below flood stage; 51,900 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2004: 8.14 ft, below flood stage; 32,200 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2006: 8.89 ft, below flood stage; 35,600 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2007: 9.37 ft, below flood stage; 38,900 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2008: 11.61 ft, below flood stage; 57,700 cubic feet per secondJun 24, 2009: 10.97 ft, below flood stage; 52,200 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2010: 11.21 ft, below flood stage; 54,800 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2011: 14.74 ft, minor flooding; 85,400 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2012: 10.13 ft, below flood stage; 44,400 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2013: 9.83 ft, below flood stage; 42,200 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 2014: 13.01 ft, below flood stage; 68,600 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2015: 10.99 ft, below flood stage; 51,000 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2016: 8.61 ft, below flood stage; 33,700 cubic feet per secondJun 9, 2017: 11.98 ft, below flood stage; 59,300 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2018: 13.80 ft, below flood stage; 76,100 cubic feet per secondJun 10, 2019: 12.06 ft, below flood stage; 60,000 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 2020: 11.78 ft, below flood stage; 57,500 cubic feet per secondJun 8, 2021: 9.37 ft, below flood stage; 38,900 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 2022: 13.82 ft, below flood stage; 77,700 cubic feet per secondJun 27, 2023: 11.89 ft, below flood stage; 58,500 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 2024: 10.79 ft, below flood stage; 49,400 cubic feet per second Highest, 21.70 ft, Mar 20, 1944 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Yellowstone River at Miles City 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 1 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 2 2 1980s: 0 1990s: 1 2000s: 0 2010s: 1 2020s: 0 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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 85 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Yellowstone River at Miles City
1Mar 20, 194421.70+7.70Minor—
2Mar 15, 197916.62+2.62Minor53,900
3May 22, 197816.50+2.50Minor102,000
4May 24, 201114.74+0.74Minor85,400
5Jun 15, 199714.53+0.53Minor83,300
6Jun 18, 202213.82−0.18Below flood stage77,700
7May 31, 201813.80−0.20Below flood stage76,100
8Jun 18, 196713.75−0.25Below flood stage71,400
9Jun 22, 197413.64−0.36Below flood stage75,400
10Jul 8, 197513.33−0.67Below flood stage70,100
11Jun 30, 196513.32−0.68Below flood stage68,400
12Jun 8, 194813.05−0.95Below flood stage70,500
13Jun 1, 201413.01−0.99Below flood stage68,600
14Jun 10, 195712.86−1.14Below flood stage67,900
15Jun 19, 196312.81−1.19Below flood stage61,300
16Jun 12, 196412.70−1.30Below flood stage62,800
17Jun 15, 199612.69−1.31Below flood stage65,700
18Jun 11, 196812.57−1.43Below flood stage63,000
19Jun 23, 194712.42−1.58Below flood stage64,800
20Jun 17, 193512.22−1.78Below flood stage66,400
21Jun 28, 193212.17−1.83Below flood stage65,200
22Jun 26, 197112.10−1.90Below flood stage58,300
23Jun 1, 195612.08−1.92Below flood stage60,700
24Jun 10, 201912.06−1.94Below flood stage60,000
25Jul 1, 197012.05−1.95Below flood stage59,500
26Jun 9, 201711.98−2.02Below flood stage59,300
27Jun 18, 196211.91−2.09Below flood stage57,100
28Jun 27, 202311.89−2.11Below flood stage58,500
29Jul 2, 198211.84−2.16Below flood stage61,000
30Jun 4, 202011.78−2.22Below flood stage57,500
31Jun 15, 199111.76−2.24Below flood stage56,600
32Jun 19, 193311.62−2.38Below flood stage60,800
33Jun 28, 200811.61−2.39Below flood stage57,700
34Jun 17, 195311.60−2.40Below flood stage58,400
35Jun 11, 197211.57−2.43Below flood stage56,000
36Jun 18, 195911.53−2.47Below flood stage54,200
37Jun 25, 195011.47−2.53Below flood stage57,300
38Jun 10, 195211.46−2.54Below flood stage54,400
39Jun 18, 199511.39−2.61Below flood stage55,700
40Jun 12, 198111.38−2.62Below flood stage57,200
41Jun 8, 201011.21−2.79Below flood stage54,800
42Jun 18, 192911.20−2.80Below flood stage60,300
43Jun 24, 199911.18−2.82Below flood stage52,300
44Jun 25, 193711.10−2.90Below flood stage51,600
45Jun 5, 201510.99−3.01Below flood stage51,000
46Jun 24, 200910.97−3.03Below flood stage52,200
47Jun 9, 198610.94−3.06Below flood stage52,200
48Jun 29, 196910.90−3.10Below flood stage48,100
49Jun 20, 195110.86−3.14Below flood stage52,000
50Jun 13, 202410.79−3.21Below flood stage49,400

The worst floods along the Yellowstone River

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

March 15, 1979: 16.62 ft here, minor flooding

  • GlendiveMT · Mar 17, 1979 · 56.55 ft · Minor
  • SidneyMT · Mar 19, 1979 · 19.57 ft · Minor

May 22, 1978: 16.50 ft here, minor flooding

  • SidneyMT · May 23, 1978 · 20.02 ft · Moderate
  • GlendiveMT · May 22, 1978 · 53.85 ft · Minor
  • ForsythMT · May 21, 1978 · 14.53 ft · Minor · its highest

May 24, 2011: 14.74 ft here, minor flooding

  • SidneyMT · May 25, 2011 · 21.92 ft · Major
  • GlendiveMT · May 23, 2011 · 56.38 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Yellowstone River

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

Flood gauges on the Yellowstone River
ForsythMT14.014.53 ft, May 21, 19780
Miles City this gaugeMT14.021.70 ft, Mar 20, 19440
GlendiveMT53.562.80 ft, Mar 20, 19690
SidneyMT19.024.03 ft, Mar 6, 19943

Other gauges in Custer County

Flood gauges in Custer County
Miles City10.013.99 ft, May 21, 20110

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

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MILM8, 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.