Catastrophic Flooding In The Yellowstone!

This year has been historic for Yellowstone National Park in more ways than one. Founded in 1872, America’s first national park is celebrating its 150th anniversary. It also experienced historic flooding, with rivers cresting at heights not seen in 100 years.

In the second week of June 2022, an atmospheric river, a narrow band of tropical moisture soaked the Pacific Northwest before dumping so many inches of rain on Wyoming and southern Montana. This was caused by the melting of a heavy snowpack on a mountain.

“This led to flooding rarely or never seen before across many area rivers and streams,” according to the National Weather Service in Billings, Montana.

On June 13, park officials closed Yellowstone which spans more than 2.2 million acres (8,900 square kilometers) in northwest Wyoming, southwest Montana, and eastern Idaho, and announced the evacuation of more than 10,000 visitors due to safety concerns. Campsites were flooded, roads were washed out, and rocks tumbled onto roadways.

Let’s stop global warming which will in turn stop excessive flooding and make our beloved earth a better place to live!

Author: Sri Nihal Tammana

Source: NASA Earth Observatory