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Shaded-relief map of Dixon, Montana: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
MONTANA · SANDERS COUNTY

Dixon

221 people, 2,500 ft above sea level in Sanders County.

2,500 ftElevation, city center
221People, 2024 estimate
7 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 37° · Calm · high 33°
City of Dixon River Interstate 2 miles
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The Dixon plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Dixon

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM MST
RIGHT NOW Missoula International Airport (KMSO) · 3:53 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 46° · high of 33° near 4 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity71%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure29.87 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 37° · Dry24° by Sunday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Monday, about 6 AMin about 37 hours · 74% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT0.1–0.4 inmost likely 0.2; 1 in 10 over 0.6
LAST RAINNov. 100.2 in · 4 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Sanders County
NWS Missoula and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:40 AM5:03 PM ↓
9 h 23 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
24
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
rain
rain
rain
rain
snow
snow
snow
snow
snow
snow
snow
TEMPERATURE °F
33°
30°
43°
36°
36°
30°
CHANCE OF RAIN
74% · 0.22 in Monday evening 50%
WIND, MPH
2
7
7
8
8
8
6
5
2
5
5
5
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
5
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 24 to 35°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
33° 28°
0% rain — SW 2 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
44° 34°
10% rain — S 6 B
MON Nov. 16 Showers likely Showers likely
37° 29°
70% rain 0.1–0.4″ SSE 3 B
TUE Nov. 17 Showers likely Showers likely
31° 23°
60% rain up to 0.5″ WNW 1 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
32° 23°
20% rain — E 1 B
THU Nov. 19 Chance of showers Chance of showers
32° 25°
40% rain up to 0.1″ NW 5 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
31° 23°
30% rain up to 0.06″ W 1 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Dixon about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the open Pacific three days ago, and over the Pacific Northwest a day ago, about 1,300 miles back along its path. It came down from about 14,400 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Pacific Northwest; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific north of Hawaii. It feels dry all the same. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Dixon stands on

Dixon’s center stands about 2,500 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,490 ft to 4,600 ft, a difference of 2,110 ft: mountain country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Ch-paa-qn Peak, about 7,920 ft, 11 miles south.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Alluvium (gravel, sand, silt), from the Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 1.8 million years old.

The section below crosses 3 rock units mapped at the surface.

Dixon, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
2,000 ft4,000 ft6,000 ft DIXON2,500 ftCh-paa-qn Peak7,920 ftLittle Bitterroot Riverabout 2,660 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 4×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Ravalli Group: St. Regis, Revett, and Burke Formations; or Empire and Grinnell Formations; or Empire and Spokane Formations

Quartzite, argillite, metasiltstone. Age: Mesoproterozoic, 1 to 1.6 billion years old. About 18 mi of the line.

Glacial lake deposit

Silt, sand, clay. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 1.8 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Gravel, sand, silt. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 1.8 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Dixon’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Dixon reaches the Pacific Ocean by way of the Flathead, the Clark Fork, the Pend Oreille and the Columbia: about 980 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Dixon≈ 980 mi · the Pacific Ocean
FROM DIXON ≈ 980 mi to the Pacific Ocean Flathead → Clark Fork → Pend Oreille → Columbia

Lakes on the way: Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Umatilla and Noxon Rapids Reservoir.

460 miles of the trip are on the Columbia.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Dixon; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Dixon on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Missoula MT · 34 MI 34 miles southeast Spokane Valley WA · 136 MI 136 miles west Great Falls MT · 144 MI 144 miles east Spokane WA · 146 MI 146 miles west Bozeman MT · 194 MI 194 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Dixon, Montana. Explore the plate
MONTANA · SANDERS

Dixon

221 people, 2,500 ft above sea level in Sanders County.

2,500 ftElevation
221People
7 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 37°
1

Today in Dixon

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy day 33° 0%
7p mostly clear night 32° 1%
10p mostly clear night 30° 0%
1a partly cloudy night 31° 0%
4a mostly clear night 31° 1%
7a mostly clear night 30° 1%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINMonday about 6 AM · 74%
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
28
33
A
Sun10%
Partly cloudy; warmer Partly cloudy; warmer
34
44
B
Mon70%
Showers likely Showers likely
29
37
B
Tue60%
Showers likely Showers likely
23
31
B
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
23
32
B
Thu40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
25
32
B
Fri30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
23
31
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Dixon stands on

Dixon’s center stands about 2,500 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,490 ft to 4,600 ft, a difference of 2,110 ft: mountain country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Ch-paa-qn Peak, about 7,920 ft, 11 miles south.

Dixon, south to north Dixon2,500 ftLittle Bitterroot Riverabout 2,660 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 7×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center2,500 ft
Within 3 miles2,490 to 4,600 ft
Lie of the landMountainous (2,110 ft of relief)
High point nearbyCh-paa-qn Peak, 7,920 ft, 11 mi south
Rock at the surfaceAlluvium
Its agePleistocene to Holocene, less than 1.8 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 980 mito the Pacific OceanFlathead → Clark Fork → Pend Oreille → Columbia

A raindrop that lands in Dixon reaches the Pacific Ocean by way of the Flathead, the Clark Fork, the Pend Oreille and the Columbia: about 980 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Umatilla and Noxon Rapids Reservoir.

460 miles of the trip are on the Columbia.