In the days before flooding hit Montana communities last June, forecasters analyzed information from sensors on rivers and on mountains to issue warnings to residents at risk.
“In our lifetime, we hadn’t seen anything like this before," said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist Cory Mottice.
A challenge for forecasters, though, is the area’s terrain.
“One of our biggest issues — and this is for a lot of the West — is just the lack of data coverage, for not only actual measurement sites in the ground, but for radar,” Mottice said . “And that’s just because we have mountains, we have terrain out here that blocks a lot.”
He said meteorologists use all the data sources at their disposal, including satellites, to navigate the difficulty of collecting data in the shadow of mountains. A new law President Joe Biden signed late last month includes the establishment of a flood early warning information system and a directive to NOAA to identify gaps in the availability of data.
The law could help improve forecasting for natural disasters, like the flooding that destroyed homes and downed bridges in some parts of Montana — including Red Lodge, where contractors are repairing a central highway that passes through town as the area recovers from flood damage.
The Montana Department of Transportation is working to restore a section of highway 212 and fortify the retaining wall with a sturdier design.
At a public meeting last week to update residents on repair work, Red Lodge Mayor Kristen Cogswell said the retaining wall will help protect the community from another flood and repair an integral point of access for Red Lodge.
"This is the highway that goes over the Beartooth Pass," she said. "This is the highway that everyone travels on to get to Yellowstone.”
Construction begins this month and is slated to continue through the spring.
