Water Flow in the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana

The upstream view from the monitoring location on the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, MT, in June (left) and November (right) 2019.

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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates a gaging station (USGS Gage 06191500) on the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Montana, and has daily flow data dating back to 1890. A portion of the discharge record spanning from 1894 to 1910 is missing.

The Yellowstone River shows a characteristic snow-driven hydrograph, where average peak flows are greater during spring runoff compared to other times of the year. The average of annual peak flows between 1890 and 2020 is 16,779 cubic feet per second (cfs), occurring on average on 8 June (day 159 of the year). Minimum annual daily flows over this same period of record averaged 652 cfs.

Water flows in the Yellowstone River in 2021 tracked with the long-term mean (1890–2020) but began its return to base flow earlier in the summer compared to the historical average. Air temperature and precipitation records indicated that this location experienced above average air temperatures and below average precipitation for the months of June and July in 2021. Minimum flow in 2021 was 556 cfs. Peak flow in 2021 was 13,100 cfs occurring on 6 June (day 157 of the year).

Summary of the average daily discharge (in cfs) in the Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, MT (USGS 06191500), for calendar year 2021 and for the period of record (1890–2020). The 25th and 75th percentiles of daily discharge are also presented.

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Calendar year 2021 monthly precipitation departure from the 30-year average (1981–2010) at Mammoth, MT (COOP Station ID 243378).

Figure created using Climate Analyzer (www.climateanalyzer.com)

Article created by the NPS Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network.