# Yellowstone Flooding



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

If you haven’t seen the news, go Google some of the videos from the flooding today in Yellowstone. I’m completely blown away but what I’ve watched!

I read that the previous record high flow on the Yellowstone River was 30,000 cfs in 1918, but today hit 50,000 cfs. Almost double the record high!

I’ve never heard anything like an entire park getting shut dow like this. People having to be evacuated from the park entirely. If you watch some of the arial footage you’ll see cars that are likely going to be sitting where they are at for a very long time after occupants flown out due to roads in both directions being washed out.

Mother Nature is incredibly powerful and humbling. That’s for sure.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

34 years ago they closed it as well for the fire.

-DallanC


----------



## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

The family and I were in the park Sunday 6-12 and wanted to go back today, but got turned around. The ranger said the park got 2 inches of rain yesterday.

This is Fishing bridge and what was coming into the Yellowstone river Sunday afternoon, about 12 hours before it really peaked.











The flows did allow for an amazing shot of the falls











The entire day was fun but we were soaked to the bone when we dragged into West Yellowstone Sunday evening.











As an aside, this buff seemed to have a death wish, strolling through the thermal zone. Maybe it was because it was on of the few moments during the day when it wasn't pouring rain.












Our travels took us away from the worst affected areas in the North of the park, but all the rivers were blown out, some dramatically so, and it got a lot worse overnight. We were forced to come home a half day early.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

We had a "get together" last evening with a Cousin and her daughter from Kentucky we haven't seen in 20 years. Her Daughter graduated HS and Mom is taking her on a graduation trip around the US before she goes off to the University of Kentucky. She's going to be an Athletic Sports Trainer. (Her Mom is a Nurse) They had just driven out of Yellowstone like a few hours before the closure.

The weather is crazy this year again.


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

The videos and pictures of the flooding are truly humbling! Mother Nature is something powerful!

Prayers for all those impacted by this.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Talked with a friend that has family in Gardiner MT. and he said that the flooding missed their home but, the place looks devastated.


----------



## bthewilde (Feb 8, 2018)

I feel for everyone who had plans or who got stuck, what a crazy turn of events. I am MORE sad though that we didn't go this year, we had talked about it and decided to go visit family instead for the kid's Spring Break. Now I regret it! It might be a coupla years.


----------



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I don't want to minimize the negative impacts of this for so many people, but for the park itself (ecosystem, wildlife, etc.) closing things down for the summer may be the best thing that ever happened to that place. 

Yellowstone and the greater Yellowstone area is my favorite place on the planet. I just can't deal with all the people.


----------



## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

bthewilde said:


> I am MORE sad though that we didn't go this year, we had talked about it and decided to go visit family instead for the kid's Spring Break. Now I regret it! It might be a coupla years.


Since it now looks like we were some of the last visitors there in the park for a while, I do feel qualified to comment. We (thankfully) did not visit the Northern parts of the park where the damage was severe, but the southern and central areas were not like that and I expect that the park will reopen soon from the south and west entrances. While the rain was intense and the rivers high, we at no time felt in danger on Sunday and were expecting to be back at it Monday morning with a short break in the weather. The severe damage was a surprise to us and the rangers manning the west entrance. It sounds like there are electrical, culinary water, and infrastructure issues to check out in places like Old Faithful, Canyons lodge and Yellowstone lake but they should be shortly resolved and ready to go. 

My point is if you were wanting to go up there this summer, you probably still can, but parts of the park will likely be closed.


----------



## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Looks like they hope to open up the southern & western portion of the park but think the northern section will be closed until next year. They are stating it's likely they'll have completely rebuild the road out of the northern section of the park in a completely new place.

I haven't been up there for almost 20 years but the damage looks phenomenal. We spent a week up there for a wedding out of Big Timber. Seeing the videos of old steel trussed bridges completely wash away is nuts. That canyon was always wild yet ai can't imagine that volume of water moving through there.

I wonder how many of our national parks are going to fair as these types of events become more common.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

* I wonder how many of our national parks are going to fair as these types of events become more common.*

Zion took a beating last year with the flooding as well. I think the Parks will do just fine. They'll just jack the cost to enter them to offset the monetary loss.


----------



## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

As we go through life stuff happens. I always say: "Hang on and spur!" Ya do the best you can with what you have to work with. For sure prices keep going up!


----------

