St. Mary River near Babb MT water level

Name: St. Mary River near Babb MT water level (U.S. Geological Survey)
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
License: https://www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits

River gauge, St. Mary River, Montana, United States

Directions

Very low for mid-October

Water level

2.02ft Steady over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 20, 2026, 04:15 AM MDT (44 min ago)

Flow: 87.1 cfs

History

7 days

Water level

What this means

The St. Mary River near Babb MT is running far below normal at 2.02 ft.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. In the last month it has stayed between 2.01 ft and 2.22 ft.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, and it usually takes a few days of steady rain to change that.

Compared with 5 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Highest on record: 5.80 ftJune 25, 2011

Floating and fishing near St. Mary River near Babb MT

Low water exposes gravel bars that make good wading access, but some boat ramps may be left high and dry.

Highest crests on record

Rank	Level	Date
1	5.80 ft	June 25, 2011

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

20 Tue 54° 35° – Wind 10 mph

21 Wed 68° 40° – Wind 13 mph

22 Thu 65° 46° – Wind 12 mph

23 Fri 52° 32° 0.48 in, 83% Wind 12 mph

24 Sat 38° 27° 0.17 in, 73% Wind 10 mph

25 Sun 30° 19° 0.00 in, 41% Wind 6 mph

26 Mon 34° 19° – Wind 6 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 08:02 AM Sunset 06:36 PM Daylight 10 hr, 34 min First quarter 67%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Lake SherburneLake	4,744.82 ft	Normal		4.6 mi
Swiftcurrent Creek at Many Glacier MTRiver gauge, Swiftcurrent Creek	28.1 cfs	Low	−1.2 cfs	11 mi
N F Milk River above St. Mary canal near Browning MTRiver gauge, N F Milk River	10.8 cfs	Low	±0	19 mi
Mountain View Irrigation District CanalCanal gauge	1.10 m	Very high	±0	34 km
Belly River near Mountain ViewRiver gauge, Belly River	1.16 m	Normal	±0	36 km
Rolph Creek near KimballRiver gauge, Rolph Creek	0.54 m	Normal	±0	38 km
North Milk River near International BoundaryRiver gauge, North Milk River	0.33 m	Normal	±0	39 km
Lee Creek at CardstonRiver gauge, Lee Creek	1.53 m	Normal	±0	42 km

Questions and answers

Is gage height the same as water depth?

No. Gage height is measured from a fixed reference point chosen by the agency, so a reading of 10 ft does not mean the river is 10 ft deep.

What is the water level of St. Mary River near Babb MT today?

On Oct 20, 2026, 04:15 AM MDT, the water level was 2.02 ft. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is St. Mary River near Babb MT rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of St. Mary River near Babb MT normal?

Very low for mid-October. Compared with 5 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at St. Mary River near Babb MT?

The highest level on record is 5.80 ft on June 25, 2011.

How often is this data updated?

The U.S. Geological Survey publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

Where does this data come from?

The values come directly from the U.S. Geological Survey, the official operator of this gauge, and are in the public domain. We do not estimate or model live values.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: U.S. Geological Survey
Station code: usgs:05017500 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 48.83304, -113.42065 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: NGVD29
Update interval: every 15 minutes
Licence: Public domain. Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provisional data subject to revision

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	2.02 ft	2026-10-20 10:15	Provisional
Flow	87.1 cfs	2026-10-20 10:15	Provisional

Download

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: St. Mary River near Babb MT (usgs:05017500). Accessed October 20, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/montana/st-mary-river-near-babb-mt

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer