What happens now?
Less obvious impacts will take time to fully assess and understand, Sholly added. Even in the relatively unharmed portions of the park, for instance, the wastewater management system might be damaged. Park managers are planning for more extensive surveys next week when the water has completely gone down.
As Sholly described it, the flooding is undoubtedly historic for the region. “I’ve heard this is a thousand-year event—whatever that means these days. They seem to be happening more and more frequently. So I don’t know exactly what context to put it in historically.”
And though he seemed unable to offer an exact parallel from the past, Sholly did say that Sunday night’s flow rating for the Yellowstone River reached 51,000 cubic feet per second—much higher than previous high flow levels of 31,000 cfs recorded in the 1990s.
The last time Yellowstone was shut down for a natural disaster was in 1988 for widespread wildfires. More recently, the park was closed for two months early in the covid-19 pandemic, and has previously briefly shuttered during government shutdowns, said Sholly. But “I don’t believe we’ve ever closed the park [before] for flooding,” he added.
Although the current flood damage cannot be directly attributed to climate change at this time, previous research has shown that human-caused climate change is increasing the risk and severity of heavy precipitation events as well as associated landslides.
Further, the warm temperatures that triggered mass snowmelt in the region are becoming more common as atmospheric greenhouse gas levels increase. Over the past 100 years, Montana has warmed by an average of about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the EPA. Heatwaves are also becoming more frequent, and snowmelt is happening earlier in the spring.
For now, in Yellowstone and the surrounding area, the flood waters have partially receded, laying bare the the extensive destruction. Clean-up efforts are already underway, but the water level is still high and the trouble is far from over. There remains about a foot of snow on the ground throughout the park, Sholly warned, and warm temperatures coupled with more rain could trigger another major flooding event in the coming days.
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The Town of Red Lodge
The Town of Red Lodge
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Roads Washed Away
Roads Washed Away
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Bridges Disappeared
Bridges Disappeared
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Helicopter View
Helicopter View
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Infrastructure in Disrepair
Infrastructure in Disrepair
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Rail Lines Down
Rail Lines Down
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Water Treatment Plant Inundated
Water Treatment Plant Inundated
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Clean-Up Efforts
Clean-Up Efforts
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