Jorja McCormick, a high school student from Livingston, likened the conditions fueling the catastrophic 2022 flooding on the Yellowstone River as “a snow cone in the shower.” That analogy, from her biology teacher, referred to the deluge of unseasonably warm rain hitting the fast-melting snowpack in the mountains near her home.

“I remember my dad went out multiple times that night to check on the floodwaters, and I was just really scared that night for him and his safety,” the 17-year-old said, adding portions of her family’s veterinary clinic were inundated at the time.

McCormick was testifying in Missoula on Tuesday as one of 22 young plaintiffs seeking to hit pause on President Donald Trump’s policies promoting coal and other fossil fuels in the United States. Increased greenhouse gas

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