2025-12-20T00:00:00-07:00
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR IN AND IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE FOOTHILLS, BETWEEN 5500 AND 9000 FEET, FOR BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES ON FRIDAY... Strong west winds of 30-40 mph with gusts as high as 85 mph in the foothills of Boulder and northern Jefferson Counties will continue until early evening. Relative humidity values had dropped into the upper single digits and lower teens. Thus, the Particularly Dangerous Situation will remain in place til around 5-6 pm, with only a slow improvement thereafter as winds slowly weaken. Red Flag conditions, however, will persist through the rest of the evening as we remain in a near record warm, dry, and windy airmass along the Front Range through midnight. In fact, strong, gusty winds will persist through much of the night with only a slow improvement in humidity values. Thus, near critical Red Flag conditions will occur into early Saturday morning. While most of the Denver metro area has seen lighter winds prevail most of the day, a period of strong, gusty winds is expected to develop this evening and likely last past midnight, producing Red Flag conditions there. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 238, 240, 241, 242 and 243. * TIMING...Until midnight MST tonight. * WINDS...West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 9 percent. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. Avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire.
Summary
Total streamflow across the
Bighorn River
was last observed at
6,968
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
13,821
acre-ft of water today; about 103%
of normal.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
6,738 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2023-06-26 when daily discharge volume was observed at
66,500 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Bighorn R At Worland Wyo
reporting a streamflow rate of 4,350 cfs.
However, the streamgauge with the highest stage along the river is the
Bighorn River Near St. Xavier
with a gauge stage of 61.1 ft.
This river is monitored from 5 different streamgauging stations along the Bighorn River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 4,051 ft, the
Bighorn R At Worland Wyo.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-19 |
| Discharge Volume | 13,821 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
6,968.0 cfs
-472.0 cfs (-6.34%) |
| Percent of Normal | 103.42% |
| Maximum |
66,500.0 cfs
2023-06-26 |
| Seasonal Avg | 6,738 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bighorn R At Worland Wyo
USGS 06268600 |
4350 cfs | 8.22 ft | ||||||
|
Bighorn River At Basin
USGS 06274300 |
968 cfs | 3.38 ft | -9.53 | |||||
|
Bighorn River At Kane
USGS 06279500 |
1210 cfs | 2.25 ft | -3.2 | |||||
|
Bighorn River Near St. Xavier
USGS 06287000 |
2060 cfs | 61.1 ft | 0 | |||||
|
Bighorn River Ab Tullock Cr Nr Bighorn Mt
USGS 06294500 |
2730 cfs | 1.95 ft | -10.78 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The Bighorn River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 461 miles (742 km) long, in the states of Wyoming and Montana in the western United States. The river was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the bighorn sheep he saw along its banks as he explored the Yellowstone.The upper reaches of the Bighorn, south of the Owl Creek Mountains in Wyoming, are known as the Wind River. The two rivers are sometimes referred to as the Wind/Bighorn. The Wind River officially becomes the Bighorn River at the Wedding of the Waters, on the north side of the Wind River Canyon near the town of Thermopolis. From there, the river flows through the Bighorn Basin in north central Wyoming, passing through Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park.
At the border with Montana, the river turns northeast, and flows past the north end of the Bighorn Mountains, through the Crow Indian Reservation, where the Yellowtail Dam forms the Bighorn Lake reservoir. The reservoir and the surrounding canyon are part of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.
The Little Bighorn River joins the Bighorn near the town of Hardin, Montana. Approximately fifty miles farther downriver, the Bighorn River ends where it joins the Yellowstone.
Porcupine Creek
Trout Creek