On June 20, 1921 the Billings Gazette reported that a man and a baby drowned and barns, granaries, houses and a bridge were swept away before an unprecedented downpour tapered off in McCone County. The 11.5 inches of rain that fell in 24 hours at Springbrook, near Circle, established a state record. That record stands today. Hot and humid air covered the great plans as winds all the way from the Gulf of Mexico pushed the summertime heat and moisture northward. Circle sits on the vast high flatlands that rise toward the Rockies and often times it gets covered with stifling heat and humidity. Temperatures can sometimes top 110 degrees. At the same time cold air can sweep down from Canada, even in the summertime and this causes violent clashes in the atmosphere. Those dynamics lead to the cloudburst and heavy thunderstorms that inundated the region on June 20, 1921.

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