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

Lakeside

2,705 people, 3,010 ft above sea level in Flathead County.

3,010 ftElevation, city center
2,705People, 2024 estimate
14 sq miLand area
Sunny 33°
Sunny now Dew point 32° · Calm · high 41°
City of Lakeside River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Lakeside 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 Lakeside

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 11:00 AM MST
RIGHT NOW Glacier Park International Airport (KGPI) · 11:55 AM
Sunny
33° Sunny Feels like 33° · high of 41° near 2 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity96%falling to 79% this afternoon
Pressure29.81 in →steady
Visibility8 mihazy
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 32° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Tomorrow, about 6 PMin about 29 hours · 52% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT0–0.08 inmost likely 0.03; 1 in 10 over 0.1
LAST RAINNov. 130.01 in · 1 dry day
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Flathead County
NWS Missoula and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 12:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:41 AM5:01 PM ↓
9 h 19 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
32
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
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
rain
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
39°
29°
44°
34°
39°
29°
CHANCE OF RAIN
52% · 0.00 in Monday morning 50%
WIND, MPH
3
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 28 to 38°

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 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
41° 25°
10% rain — WSW 3 A
SUN Nov. 15 Chance of showers Chance of showers
46° 29°
40% rain up to 0.08″ SSE 2 B
MON Nov. 16 Chance of showers Chance of showers
40° 25°
50% rain up to 0.05″ WSW 2 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36° 21°
20% rain — W 1 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
35° 22°
10% rain — ENE 1 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
36° 21°
20% rain — NE 1 B
FRI Nov. 20 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
35° 20°
10% rain — SW 1 C
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 Lakeside about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Pacific north of Hawaii three days ago, and over the Pacific Northwest a day ago, about 1,360 miles back along its path. It came down from about 14,500 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.

THIS WEEK IN 1999 Nov. 13, 1999

The hottest this week has been

67° on Nov. 13, 1999, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1949. Next is 64° in 1990.

64°
67°
19901999
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Creston record since 1949.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Lakeside stands on

Lakeside’s center stands about 3,010 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,890 ft to 4,550 ft, a difference of 1,660 ft: steep hill country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Blacktail Mountain, about 6,750 ft, 6 miles west.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Piegan Group: Helena and Wallace Formations (quartzite, metasiltstone, argillite), from the Mesoproterozoic, 1 to 1.6 billion years old.

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

Lakeside, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
3,000 ft4,000 ft5,000 ft6,000 ft LAKESIDE3,010 ftHigh point of the line6,360 ftBaldy Mountain4,970 ftWoods Bay3,110 ftSwan Riverabout 3,060 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 6×. 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 9 mi of the line.

Piegan Group: Helena and Wallace Formations

Quartzite, metasiltstone, argillite. Age: Mesoproterozoic, 1 to 1.6 billion years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Glacial deposit

Unconsolidated. 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 Lakeside’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Lakeside reaches the Pacific Ocean by way of Stoner Creek, the Flathead, the Clark Fork, the Pend Oreille and the Columbia: about 1,060 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Lakeside≈ 1,060 mi · the Pacific Ocean
FROM THE CENTER OF LAKESIDE ≈ 1,060 mi to the Pacific Ocean Stoner Creek → Flathead → Clark Fork → Pend Oreille → Columbia

Lakes on the way: Flathead Lake, 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 Lakeside; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Lakeside’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1949 · Creston, 13 mi north-northeast

Lakeside has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 81° in July; winter nights fall to about 18° in January. A normal year brings about 51 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 19 inches of water.

32°18°37°19°45°26°55°32°65°40°71°47°81°51°81°49°70°40°56°31°41°26°33°20° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY LAKESIDE 19.2 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average81° / 51°high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 18°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow19.2 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year50.6 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record100°FAugust 4, 1961
Coldest on record−41°FDecember 30, 1968
Wettest day on record2.85 inJuly 2, 2008
Snowiest day on record14.0 inNovember 19, 1996
90° days a year7none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°179and 47 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Sept. 22, to the last in spring, about May 20 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 14 to Jan. 17; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 12 to April 17; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchApril through June: 7.6 of the year’s 19.2 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Lakeside normally reaches 42° and falls to 26°. The record high is 59°, in 1999; the record low −5°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.46 in, fell in 2021.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high32°37°45°55°65°71°81°81°70°56°41°33°
Normal low18°19°26°32°40°47°51°49°40°31°26°20°
Rain and melt, in1.461.191.141.812.183.571.220.941.321.491.451.48
Snow, inches13.811.06.32.10.10.00.00.00.00.53.413.4
Record high53° (2015)62° (1995)74° (2004)85° (1977)93° (1986)98° (2021)98° (2021)100° (1961)96° (1988)81° (2020)67° (1999)60° (2021)
Record low−40° (1950)−33° (1950)−32° (1960)4° (1951)15° (1954)28° (1969)32° (1971)31° (1992)18° (2000)−1° (2020)−19° (1959)−41° (1968)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1949 at Creston, 13 miles north-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Lakeside on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Kalispell MT · 14 MI 14 miles north Missoula MT · 80 MI 80 miles south Great Falls MT · 141 MI 141 miles east Spokane Valley WA · 141 MI 141 miles west Spokane WA · 151 MI 151 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Lakeside, Montana. Explore the plate
MONTANA · FLATHEAD

Lakeside

2,705 people, 3,010 ft above sea level in Flathead County.

3,010 ftElevation
2,705People
14 sq miLand
Sunny 33°
SunnyDew point 32°
1

Today in Lakeside

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 39° 7%
3p mostly cloudy day 41° 2%
6p partly cloudy night 36° 1%
9p partly cloudy night 32° 1%
12a partly cloudy night 32° 1%
3a partly cloudy night 32° 2%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINTomorrow about 6 PM · 52%
→
Sat10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
25
41
A
Sun40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
29
46
B
Mon50%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
25
40
B
Tue20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
21
36
B
Wed10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
22
35
B
Thu20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
21
36
B
Fri10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
20
35
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1999 · NOV. 13, 1999

67°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1949.

2

What Lakeside stands on

Lakeside’s center stands about 3,010 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,890 ft to 4,550 ft, a difference of 1,660 ft: steep hill country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Blacktail Mountain, about 6,750 ft, 6 miles west.

Lakeside, west to east Lakeside3,010 ftBaldy Mountain4,970 ftSwan Riverabout 3,060 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 11×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center3,010 ft
Within 3 miles2,890 to 4,550 ft
Lie of the landSteep hill country (1,660 ft of relief)
High point nearbyBlacktail Mountain, 6,750 ft, 6 mi west
Rock at the surfacePiegan Group: Helena and Wallace Formations
Its ageMesoproterozoic, 1 to 1.6 billion years old
5

Lakeside’s year

Lakeside has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 81° in July; winter nights fall to about 18° in January. A normal year brings about 51 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 19 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 19.2 in
July, average81° / 51° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 18° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow19.2 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year50.6 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record100°F · August 4, 1961
Coldest on record−41°F · December 30, 1968
Wettest day on record2.85 in · July 2, 2008
Snowiest day on record14.0 in · November 19, 1996
90° days a year7 · none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°179 · and 47 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Sept. 22, to the last in spring, about May 20 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 14 to Jan. 17; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 12 to April 17; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · April through June: 7.6 of the year’s 19.2 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Lakeside normally reaches 42° and falls to 26°. The record high is 59°, in 1999; the record low −5°, in 1959. The most rain on this date, 0.46 in, fell in 2021.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1949 at Creston, 13 miles north-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,060 mito the Pacific OceanStoner Creek → Flathead → Clark Fork → Pend Oreille → Columbia

A raindrop that lands in Lakeside reaches the Pacific Ocean by way of Stoner Creek, the Flathead, the Clark Fork, the Pend Oreille and the Columbia: about 1,060 river miles.

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

460 miles of the trip are on the Columbia.