Pacific Northwest weather can be a conundrum. In 2026, many parts of the region struggled to build snowpack and saw minimal precipitation. However, even average snowpack combined with storm events can lead to elevated stream flows, as the Flathead Basin in western Montana saw this week.

The National Weather Service’s Missoula office predicted that upper-elevation rain could cause some minor and localized flooding as it melts the snow and the runoff cascades downstream. Multiple entities that manage water and dams in the area including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Energy Keepers Inc. (Energy Keepers) coordinated and monitored the incoming weather. USACE works closely with dam  owners and operators to oversee flood risk management operations in the Columbia Basin.

The Northwestern Division’s Reservoir Control Center coordinates reservoir operations with other entities in the region during these situations, and Leah Hamilton, reservoir regulator, said USACE dams downstream were prepared.

“Albeni Falls Dam increased outflows this weekend to pass the water through Lake Pend Oreille without filling too fast,” Hamilton said. “They have space in the reservoir to manage high inflow. We were tracking the storm and working with Reclamation and Energy Keepers to manage runoff and reservoir refill. With these operations, we still expect both Lake Pend Oreille and Flathead Lake to fill on or ahead of schedule to support summer recreation.

Albeni Falls is a Seattle District, USACE dam located astride the Pend Oreille River in northern Idaho. Flows from the Flathead and South Fork Flathead rivers eventually make their way to the reservoir behind Albeni Falls Dam but first they flow through Hungry Horse Dam, a Reclamation facility, and Se̓liš Ksanka Qĺispe̓ (SKQ) Project, operated by Energy Keepers, a corporation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. For more information about Lake Pend Oreille operations during the storm, visit Seattle District’s website.

The Columbia Falls, Montana area could have seen some minor nuisance flooding, with river stages ranging around 14 feet on the Flathead River. Columbia Falls lies in a low area between Hungry Horse and Flathead Lake, which is the key concern for everyone keeping track of the incoming rain. The Northwest River Forecast Center has information on Columbia Falls, here.

USACE prescribes flood risk management (FRM) elevations for the SKQ project on Flathead Lake during spring runoff to minimize flood risk, but all other operational decisions are made by Energy Keepers in accordance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for SKQ Dam. Reclamation is ultimately responsible for the operations at Hungry Horse Dam, which is a part of the federal Columbia River System.

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