In maps, photos and videos, see the full force of Yellowstone’s floods
Every summer, millions flock to Yellowstone National Park and wait for the reliable eruption of the geyser Old Faithful. This week, visitors were caught in a unpredictable and massive explosion of water that coursed through the region and swept away homes, bridges and roadways.
Widespread flooding spurred by torrential rain and rapid snowmelt triggered mudslides and rockslides. Hundreds of residents lost their homes. The beloved park’s landscape may be forever changed.
(David Goldman/AP)
(Brittany Peterson/AP)
(David Goldman/AP)
The floods swept into Red Lodge, a town outside the park’s northeast entrance, leaving people to wander through the rubble of a washed-out road.
Hastily formed sandbag brigades were no match for the waters, which left tons of mud behind. At least 150 homes were damaged, the Associated Press reported, and residents and volunteers took up wheelbarrows, buckets and a pump to clear debris.
Running water has been restored, and belongings are drying out under the summer sun. But the damage to Red Lodge, with an economy that depends on the park, will persist.
The northern entrances to Yellowstone are likely to be closed through the summer. The park’s superintendent said he thinks flooding has never shut the park before.
The nearby gateway town of Gardiner straddles the Yellowstone River. Victoria Britton watched the waters rising on Monday and then evacuated with her husband, park employee T.J. Britton. Later, they saw a video of their big waterfront home being picked up and carried away by the raging waters.
“It was our own little sanctuary; nobody knew it was there,” she told The Washington Post, through tears. “Now the rest of our life is in the river.”
About 10,000 visitors were evacuated, and at least 88 more were airlifted by the Montana National Guard from campsites and surrounding towns. No deaths or serious injuries were reported near the park, which sprawls across 2.2 million acres.
Closed park entrance
Areas with more than 2 inches of rain
MONTANA
89
Gardiner
191
1
2
3
Canyon Village
4
89
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
14
191
Yellowstone
Lake
WYOMING
IDAHO
John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Memorial Parkway
Grand Teton
Natl. Park
10 MILES
Washed-out roads and rockslides
1
Segment of road potentially compromised
2
Mudslide
3
Washed-out roads, mudslides and downed trees
4
Sources: National Weather Service (rainfall), European Space Agency (base image), USGS (elevation), National Park Service (damage)
Closed park entrance
Areas with more
than 2 inches of rain
MONTANA
Washed-out roads, mudslides and downed trees
89
Washed-out roads and rockslides
191
Gardiner
Mudslide
Canyon Village
Segment of road
potentially compromised
89
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
14
191
Yellowstone
Lake
WYOMING
IDAHO
John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Memorial Parkway
Grand Teton
Natl. Park
10 MILES
Sources: National Weather Service (rainfall), European Space Agency (base image), USGS (elevation), National Park Service (damage)
Closed park entrance
Areas with more than 2 inches of rain
89
Washed--out roads and rockslides
MONTANA
191
Gardiner
Washed--out roads, mudslides and downed trees
Mudslide
Canyon Village
Segment of road
potentially compromised
89
191
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
14
191
Yellowstone
Lake
WYOMING
IDAHO
John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Memorial Parkway
Grand Teton
Natl. Park
10 MILES
Sources: National Weather Service (rainfall), European Space Agency (base image), USGS (elevation), National Park Service (damage)
Closed park entrance
Areas with more than 2 inches of rain
89
Washed-out roads and rockslides
MONTANA
191
Gardiner
Washed-out roads, mudslides and downed trees
Mudslide
Canyon Village
Segment of road
potentially compromised
89
191
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
191
14
Yellowstone
Lake
WYOMING
IDAHO
John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Memorial Parkway
Grand Teton
Natl. Park
10 MILES
Sources: National Weather Service (rainfall), European Space Agency (base image), USGS (elevation), National Park Service (damage)
President Biden on Thursday approved Montana’s request for a major disaster declaration, which sets in motion federal aid for the three counties devastated. Gov. Greg Gianforte, out of the country with his wife on what his spokeswoman called “a personal trip,” returned Friday.
(Paradise Valley Aerials/Storyful)
(Maxar Technologies/Reuters)
(Maxar Technologies/Reuters)
Three unusual atmospheric forces collided to produce the historic flooding Monday, shown here in Montana’s Paradise Valley.
The Gardner River appears only as wide as Highway 89 in this March 30 satellite image.
On June 15, the river has overtaken and washed out the highway.
This June 16 aerial photograph shows the vast strata of rock shifted onto the road and makes clear why the park’s northern half is likely to stay closed all summer, devastating Gardiner, reliant on tourism.
The cascade of forces began with cooler air hovering over the Pacific Northwest and Western Rockies, delaying snowmelt in the region. An unusual late-season storm dumped heavy snow in late May. That addition to the snowpack had massive amounts of water — more than twice the usual amount.
Then, late last week, a 3,000-mile-long jet of moisture known as an atmospheric river was suddenly pointed straight at the Pacific Northwest. Atmospheric rivers transport tremendous amounts of moisture from the ocean across land. In this instance, the warmer-than-usual Pacific Ocean temperatures intensified the surge.
June 10th
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
WASH.
ORE.
IDAHO
wyo.
utah
NEV.
CALIF.
ARIz.
Pacific
Ocean
200 MILES
Source: NASA
June 10th
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
WASH.
ORE.
wyo.
IDAHO
utah
NEV.
CALIF.
ARIz.
Pacific
Ocean
200 MILES
Source: NASA
June 10th
MONT.
WASH.
wyo.
IDAHO
ORE.
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
utah
NEV.
CALIF.
ARIZ.
Pacific
Ocean
200 MILES
Source: NASA
June 10th
MONTANA
WASHINGTON
wyoming
OREGON
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL
PARK
IDAHO
utah
NEVADA
CALIFORNIA
Pacific Ocean
ARIZONA
200 MILES
Source: NASA
This long plume of atmospheric moisture can be seen above in this June 10 satellite image.
As the atmospheric river reached parts of Washington and Oregon, it unleashed a record-setting amount of rainfall. And when it reached Yellowstone, the burst of rain and pulse of warm air simultaneously hit the snowpack like a match to a flame.
All of this water resulted in dramatic river rises, which shattered century-old records. The Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, Mont., rose 6 feet between Sunday and Monday to its highest level on record, several feet above the previous high mark from 1918.
Estimated precipitation on June 13
1 inch
2
3
4
MONTANA
Bozeman
Red Lodge
Cody
YELLOWSTONE
NAT’L PARK
IDAHO
WYOMING
Grand Teton
Nat’l Park
40 MILES
Source: National Weather Service
Estimated precipitation on June 13
1 inch
2
3
4
MONTANA
Billings
Bozeman
Red Lodge
Gardiner
Cody
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK
IDAHO
WYOMING
Grand Teton
Nat’l Park
Idaho
Falls
40 MILES
Source: National Weather Service
Estimated precipitation on June 13
1 inch
2
3
4
Butte
MONTANA
Billings
Bozeman
Red Lodge
Gardiner
Cody
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK
WYOMING
IDAHO
Grand Teton
Nat’l Park
Idaho
Falls
40 MILES
Source: National Weather Service
The floods mostly missed Gardiner, but they didn’t miss the roads in and out of the small gateway town, where many visitors find lodging. Hundreds of visitors and residents were stranded until Tuesday.
The only other way to Gardiner from the park would be to drive hundreds of miles out of the way.
“It’s a Yellowstone town,” Park County Commissioner Bill Berg said Tuesday. “It lives and dies by tourism, and this is going to be a pretty big hit.”
(David Goldman/AP)
(David Goldman/AP)
(David Goldman/AP)
People walk past closed shops in Gardiner on June 15.
Katie Gale and her dog, Rory, wait for customers at Paradise Adventure Company in Gardiner on June 15.
Jackson Muller and Christie Davis sit in a raft with Bonnie, the dog of the owners of Flying Pig Adventures, a rafting and adventure company in Gardiner on June 15.
Vehicles block the entrance to Yellowstone National Park on June 15.
The unprecedented destruction has left many people in the region uneasy about their futures. Extreme weather, from record-breaking heat waves to raging wildfires to more powerful hurricanes, is accelerating as global temperatures rise, destroying livelihoods and putting strain on all kinds of communities just like Yellowstone.
The park’s superintendent, Cameron Sholly, offered a grim assessment Tuesday.
“Even if we got started right now, I’m not sure if we would get roads reopen,” Sholly said. “This is not going to be an easy rebuild... with the right people assessing whether it makes sense to build here in the future.”
Kasha Patel in Washington and Deby Dixon in Gardiner, Montana, contributed to this report.