Warmer temps may bring big-time melt

LAKE COUNTY — The Mission Mountain Range holding a significant flood potential, that’s no shocker to anyone following the news this spring. But, according to Bruce Bauck, meteorologist with weather service in Missoula, this week’s warm weather could make things extra-interesting.

“We’re at record snowpack,” he said. “At Moss Peak, the snowpack really hasn’t changed; it is still very heavy above 6,000 feet.”

According to Bauck, the amount of water that’s in the snow at Moss Peak is over 50 inches above normal and 20 inches above the past record.

“We’re in new territory for snowpack in the Flathead,” he said. “Any warm spell could result in a significant flood.”

Temperatures should reach the 80s later this week, recording perhaps the warmest temperatures of 2011.

Flathead Lake was still eight inches below full pool on Monday, but Bauck predicted it may breach full pool by the end of June. It takes a long time for this system to fill,” he said. “But if it does, it could mean big waves on the lake that have a much more substantial impact on property along the lake.”

This upcoming warm period of snow melt is not all bad news for local streams and rivers, however; we’re actually chipping away at the snowpack, Bauck said.